Best Wishes Revised
by Count Morningstar
Summary: The direct sequel to Scourge of Galactic. Two years after his horrible encounter with Cyrus, Ash travels with Misty to the Unova Region to try and move on. During their travels they meet new friends and rivals, along with enemies, both new and old. And as before, Ash will have to save the world once again.
1. Prologue

**Introduction:** Well, here we are at last. This is a story that I've been planing to do for months now. I started working on the outline I think back when I was doing the Noir Mask Trilogy. So you can probably imagine how much I've been looking forward to getting it started. Back in _Scourge of Galactic_ I only focused on the Team Galactic encounters and skipped over the gyms all together. This story is different, this time I'll be doing it all. All the gym battles, all the villain encounters, and some other stuff. Just think of this as a new version of the anime (which is what this series has been from the beginning, really). Now because of the sheer length of this story, I'll probably only update it once a week and use the rest of the time for other stories, some Pokemon related, others not. But then there'll probably be weeks where I do more than one chapter a week, and others where I don't touch the story at all. So for now just sit back and enjoy the ride.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Prologue

Misty awoke to the light of the sun shinning through the window of her room. She slowly sat up and looked at the clock on the clock on the nightstand next to the right side of her bed, it read 7:00 AM. Misty then yawned and stretched before getting out of bed to start another day. As she began to walk towards the bathroom attached to her room and remove the blue loose-fitting t-shirt that she had been using for a pajama top, Misty glanced into the full-length mirror on the inside of her open closet door and noticed the fairly large burn scar in the middle of her upper back. For a moment the scar brought back the memories of when she was shot in the back by the energy weapon of Cyrus, the leader of Team Galactic.

Two years had passed since that horrible incident that almost resulted in Misty's death, and in that time the young man who had since become her boyfriend, Ash Ketchum, had put his journey as a Pokemon Trainer on hold to focus more on honing his skills as an Aura Guardian. It was Ash's way of dealing with the horrible events that had taken place two years before. Misty stayed by Ash of course, and as a result they had been staying on the second floor of the Ecruteak City Gym so Ash could do some of his training at the Tin Tower. And Ash and Misty's relationship had grown since the incident from two years before. When Ash wasn't training he and Misty would usually be seen spending a good deal of time together, and it even seemed lately as though Ash was slowly getting over his trauma.

A few minutes later, Misty had finished getting dressed in a blue and white-striped t-shirt, denim shorts, and pink jacket. She checked herself in the mirror one last time to make sure her long orange hair was in place before heading out the door downstairs. Before long Misty had reached the gym's kitchen, and sitting at the counter in the middle of the room was a man with slightly long blond hair wearing a blue headband, a light-blue long sleeved shirt, and black pants. This was the Ecruteak City Gym leader, Morty.

"Good Morning Morty." Misty greeted as she entered the room.

"Good morning." Morty greeted back. "If you're looking for Ash, he's already gone to the tower."

"Did he skip breakfast again?" Misty asked.

"I believe so, yes." Morty said as he casually took a sip from his cup of tea.

"That figures." Misty sighed. "Well, I guess I'll have to bring it to him again."

"As long as you're taking Ash his breakfast, there's someone here who I'd like you to escort to the tower." Morty revealed. "He's says he's an old friend of yours."

On cue, a young man with slightly long brown hair stepped into the room. He was wearing a white lab coat over a black shirt and black pants. And right away Misty recognized just who the young man was.

"Gary Oak?" Misty said with a look of surprise.

"Yo." Gary greeted with a two-fingered salute. "Long time, no see, huh?"

"Yeah, it's good to see you again." Misty replied. "So what brings you here?"

"I came to see Ash, of course." Gary said, as if the answer was obvious. "There's something I want to talk to him about."

"I'll take you to him then." Misty said gladly.

* * *

A few minutes later, Misty was leading Gary to the tallest building in Ecruteak City, the sacred Tin Tower. In her right hand, Misty carried a large wicker basket containing food.

"You know you would've had to wait for a bit if you came a day later." Misty spoke as they walked. "Friday mornings Ash usually goes to Blackthorn City to train for a few hours."

"You know I was really surprised when my grandpa told me that Ash stopped his journey to become a Pokemon Master." Gary revealed. "I never imagined he'd do something like that. What kinda training has he been doing?"

"He's been practicing the Aura Guardian skills that he learned from Riley." Misty explained.

"And who is this Riley guy?" Gary asked. Gary's question made Misty stop in her tracks.

"Riley was a man Ash and I met when we first came to Sinnoh two years ago." Misty explained with a look of sadness on her face, though she did not turn once to face Gary. "He died saving Ash's life when he was captured by Team Galactic. Ash really looked up to Riley, and he took his death pretty hard."

"Oh… sorry I asked." Gary replied.

"It's okay, you didn't know." Misty said as she turned to face Gary with a reassuring smile. "Now c'mon, let's get going."

A few more minutes passed, and soon Misty led Gary into the Tin Tower. After climbing up several floors of the ancient structure the two finally reached the roof. Sitting on the roof in a cross-legged position with his eyes closed was a young man with long black hair tied back into a ponytail wearing a black t-shirt, blue vest, denim jeans, and red and white tennis shoes. This young man of course was Ash. Sitting at Ash's right, also with its eyes closed, was a yellow rodent-like creature with long pointed black-tipped ears, large red cheeks, and a lightning bolt shaped tail. This was Ash's first Pokemon, Pikachu.

Sitting at Ash's left, also with eyes closed in a cross-legged position, was another Pokemon that resembled a bipedal jackal. It was mainly blue with black paws and a black band of fur around its eyes that resembled a mask. The fur covering its torso was cream-colored, and sticking out from the center of its chest and the back of its forepaws were metal spikes. Dangling from the sides of its head were black almost water drop shaped ornaments. This was another one of Ash's loyal Pokemon, Lucario, who he had received from his mentor Riley when it was but an egg.

Sitting behind Ash and his two Pokemon with its wings folded was a very large red bird with a long yellow beak and a white underside. It had black rings around its eyes and a green band around its neck. Its tail was made of long shimmering golden feathers, and on the top of its head was a gold comb. This was the Legendary Pokemon that Ash had captured on the roof of the Tin Tower about three years before, the fabled Ho-Oh. Gary stood in awe upon seeing the great bird.

"Hey Misty." Ash greeted, not once opening his eyes. "Hi there Gary. I thought I sensed you coming into town."

"How did he…?" a surprised Gary began to ask. Misty ignored Gary and walked over to Ash. She then bent down and gave him a peck on the cheek, causing him to open his eyes.

"You skipped breakfast again you know." Misty reminded him.

"Yeah, sorry. I couldn't sleep again last night so I decided to come up here." Ash explained.

"Was it that dream again?" Misty asked with a slightly worried expression.

"Yeah, but it's nothing to worry about." Ash assured her as he got to his feet. He then turned his attention to Gary. "So Gary, I guess you're surprised to see I caught Ho-Oh, huh?"

"To be honest, I thought gramps was pulling my leg when he told me." Gary admitted as he stepped forward a bit.

"Yeah, both my mom and Professor Oak were pretty shocked the first time Misty and I flew into Pallet Town on Ho-Oh." Ash said with a small laugh. "So what brings you here Gary?"

"Well, I was kinda in the neighborhood and was wondering if you were planning on going back on your journey anytime soon." Gary explained.

"Why do you ask?" Ash inquired.

"My grandpa told me about an old collogue of his in the Unova Region and suggested I go there to work with her as an assistant for awhile." Gary explained. "He thought he could learn a lot by working with her. And I was kinda thinking it'd be a good place for you to travel."

"I've never heard of the Unova Region before." Misty interrupted.

"Yeah, I didn't hear about it until a few days ago." Gary revealed. "I'm sure it has a lot of Pokemon that none of us had ever seen before. And I'm sure it has a lot of strong trainers too. Don't you think it'd be a good challenge for you Ash?"

"You know Ash, it has been two years since what happened in Sinnoh." Misty pointed out. "It might be good for you to go on another journey."

Ash said nothing and walked to the edge of the Tin Tower roof. He then looked out over the vast landscape of Johto.

"You know, I really like coming to the roof of this tower." Ash said after a moment. "You can see almost all of Johto from up here. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to do a lot of my training here in Ecruteak. But sometimes I wonder about just what's beyond this view. There's still a lot of this world that I haven't seen yet." He then turned back to face Misty and the others. "Hey Pikachu, Lucario, Ho-Oh, what do you guys think about taking a trip to Unova?"

"Pika!" Pikachu said enthusiastically as he jumped to his feet. Lucario also got up and gave an enthusiastic sort of barking noise. Ho-Oh squawked and unfolded its wings to reveal that they were rimmed with shining green wings.

"Okay, how 'bout you Misty?" Ash asked as he turned to look at his girlfriend. "You wanna come with me?"

"You bet." Misty answered with a smile.

"Alright then," Ash said as he turned back to look out across the landscape, "let's head for the Unova Region!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** And, cue theme music. Okay, so a lot of this story will be about Ash trying to get over the trauma he experienced while facing Team Galactic in the last story. I'll also try and develop Ash and Misty's relationship in a few places. Now, the first chapter is already up, so feel free to move on.

Or, you can take a minute to review now and let me know what you think.


	2. Brave New Land

**Author's Note:** In the introduction I mentioned that I made an outline for this story. And when I did that, I used the episodes of the Black and White anime as a guide. Some episodes were cut (mainly filler), while the rest have been changed around and given my own little spin. One thing I'll tell you right now is that Iris will not be showing up in this story. And there will be other significant changes as well, but you'll see as the story goes on.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon. If I did, Ash would not have a Homer Simpson level IQ like he does in the anime now.

* * *

Chapter 1: Brave New Land

The following day after meeting on the roof of the Tin Tower, Ash, Misty, and Gary boarded a plane headed for the Unova Region. Both Ash and Misty were surprised that Unova was so far away from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. After a two-hour plane ride they landed at the airport near Nuvema Town. A short walk later the group arrived in the small town and came to a two-story heavily windowed building with an orange roof. As soon as they arrived, a woman with long pinned-up brown hair wearing a lab coat, blue shirt, and dark-green skirt came out to greet them.

"Are you Professor Aurea Juniper?" Gary asked the woman.

"Yes, and you are?" the woman replied.

"I'm Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson." Gary explained.

"Oh! I heard from your grandfather that you might be coming." Professor Juniper told him. "And I can see you brought some friends."

"Yeah, these are my friends Ash and Misty." Gary introduced. "Ash is a Pokemon Trainer and is interested in traveling Unova."

"I see, well come on in then. I'll give you a tour of my lab." Professor Junipter said before leading the group inside.

After a brief tour of the building Professor Juniper led them into a large and well-windowed room containing two large tables and a few computers. In the center of the room was a round metal pedestal with two round indentations in the top. There was a third, but an open Pokeball filled that space. Right away, Ash was reminded of a similar pedestal at Professor Oak's lab in Kanto, one that was used to house the Pokeballs containing the Kanto Starter Pokemon.

"This is where I hand out the Pokemon for new trainers." Professor Juniper explained. "I thought this would be the best room to end the tour in. If you had come sooner I would've been able to show you all three of them, but I'm afraid two of them have already been taken by new trainers."

"Say Professor, do you have a fourth Pokemon for anyone who might, say, oversleep and show up too late to get one?" Gary asked somewhat jokingly.

"Now who would be silly enough to do that?" Professor Juniper laughed.

"Uh, that would be me actually." Ash admitted with a slight look of embarrassment. "Not that I'm complaining though. Pikachu and I make the perfect team."

"Oh… well then maybe I should start looking into that then." Professor Juniper said with a somewhat apologetic expression.

"Hey, the last Pokeball here is open." Misty noticed while looking at the pedestal.

"Oh dear, it seems that the little Oshawott that nobody took got out of its Pokeball again." Professor Juniper realized. "Well I'm sure it's around here somewhere. I'd appreciate it if you three would help me look for it."

With that Ash and the others, including Pikachu and Lucario, began looking around the large room for the missing Pokemon. After a few minutes, Misty noticed a flat blue paddle-like tail sticking out from behind a large green plastic planter.

"Hey there little guy." Misty called to the creature. "We've been looking all over for you. Why don't you come on out?"

After a moment, the Pokemon finally came out from behind the planter. It was a small otter-like creature with a large white round head that had two small blue pointed ears on the sides near the top. On its face was a large and distinctive round orange-brown nose. It had a light-blue body and white stubby arms. Its large feet were blue like its flat tail. Adorning its chest was a yellow clamshell.

"Aw, aren't you cute." Misty said to the little Pokemon. "You must be Oshawott. My name is Misty."

"Osha!" the little Pokemon said happily before trotting up to Misty and affectionately rubbing up against her leg.

"Well, it seems that little Oshawott has taken quite a shin to you." Professor Juniper observed. "Why don't you take it with you?"

"Oh I couldn't possibly do that." Misty replied. "I mean shouldn't you save this Oshawott for a new trainer?"

"Actually I was only expecting two new trainers today." Professor Juniper explained. "So you might as well take Oshawott along with you. I'm sure it would like that better than just staying behind in my lab."

"Oshawott is a Water Pokemon, isn't it?" Gary observed.

"Why yes it is." Professor Juniper confirmed.

"Well then Oshawott is perfect for you Misty." Ash pointed out. "I mean you're all about raising Water Pokemon."

"I don't know…" Misty said with a look of uncertainty.

"Well then if you don't want Oshawott maybe I'll take it." Ash said jokingly.

"Hah! In your dreams!" Misty responded. She then turned back to Oshawott. "Well little guy, you want to come with me and Ash?"

"Osha!" the little otter Pokemon replied happily.

"Okay, so now that that's settled we can get down to business." Professor Juniper said as she turned to Ash. "Now Ash, first of all if you're going to be traveling through Unova, you might need this new Pokedex." Professor Juniper reached into the pocket of her lab coat and handed Ash a small flat grey rectangular device that had two monitors on top and was red on the bottom with a design resembling a Pokeball. Ash took the device and put it in his inner vest pocket. "Now then, the closest gym is in Striation City, which is a two-day walk from here."

"Then that's where we'll go." Ash replied.

A few minutes later, Ash and Misty had headed out the door of the lab to the path to the next city. Oshawott had decided to remain outside of its Pokeball for a bit. Just as they exited onto the path outside the lab, a passing young man bumped into Misty. He had fairly long blond hair and was wearing an orange coat over a black hooded shirt over a purple t-shirt, along with grey pants and white shoes.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Misty exclaimed, getting the boy's attention.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't see you there." The young man said indifferently.

"Ah Trip, are you just leaving now?" Professor Juniper asked the young man.

"Yeah, just had to say goodbye to my mom and grab a few things." Trip explained. He then glanced down and noticed Oshawott standing close to Misty. "Is that the Oshawott that was left at Professor Juniper's lab?"

"Yeah, why?" Misty confirmed.

"No offense, but aren't you a little old to be just starting out as a trainer?" Trip asked rather rudely. "I mean you're like, what, fourteen?"

"For your information, I've been a Pokemon Trainer for a few years now!" a rather offended Misty told him. "Professor Juniper gave me this Oshawott because it took a liking to me."

"You've really been a trainer for years? Because you don't seem all that strong to me." Trip commented.

"Hey! I'll have you know that my family runs the Cerulean City Gym in Kanto!" Misty informed him.

"Well that explains it. Just what I'd expect from a trainer all the way out from the Kanto Region boonies." Trip rudely commented. "Even someone from family of gym leaders there wouldn't be much of a challenge. I bet beating your gym would be a piece of cake."

"Now wait just a minute you little…!" Misty began to argue.

"Hey punk!" Ash cut in. "Where do you get off putting down the Kanto Region?"

"I'm just stating the facts." Trip replied. "Kanto is just a small little region with barely anything there. It's not like there are any strong trainers there."

"How would you know? Have you ever been there?" Ash retorted.

"I don't need to go to the Kanto Region to know the skill level of the trainers from there." Trip maintained. He then noticed Pikachu riding on Ash's shoulder. "But then I wouldn't expect you to understand since you're obviously from Kanto yourself."

"Oh yeah? Well why don't you try taking me on?" Ash dared. "You might learn something!"

"Hmph, why not? It'd be interesting to take on that Pikachu of yours." Trip agreed before throwing out a Pokeball. "Go Snivy!"

Emerging from Trip's Pokeball was a small green lizard-like creature with a slim yellow stripe down its back and a cream-colored underside. Its body was snake-like, but it had small but fairly developed arms and legs. Its snout was pointed and it had very large brown eyes and pronounced yellow eyelids. On its shoulders were small yellow vines and its tail ended in a large green three-pointed leaf.

"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

"PIka!" the electric rodent cried as it jumped down from Ash to face Snivy.

"Snivy, use Vine Whip!" Trip ordered.

"Pikachu, dodge and use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded. Just as Snivy launched two long green vines from behind its back, Pikachu vanished and caused the vines to strike the ground where the rodent once stood. Seconds later Pikachu appeared behind Snivy and rammed it, throwing it into the air. "Now use Iron Tail!"

Before Snivy could hit the ground, Pikachu's tail glowed with a white light before changing to look like a piece of metal. He spun around in the air and struck Snivy in the chest with its tail. The grass reptile was hurled into the side of a nearby tree with such force that it left an impression. A moment later, Snivy fell to the ground out cold, greatly surprising Trip.

"So, still think Kanto Region trainers are weak?" Ash asked.

"Hmph, I guess everyone gets lucky every now and then." Trip said as he called Snivy back to its Pokeball. "I'll have to pay you back for that one of these days. What's your name, anyway?"

"Ash Ketchum." Ash replied, narrowing his eyes at Trip.

"I'll try and remember that if we run into each other again." Trip said as he began to walk off. "Later."

"What a little…" Ash began to curse.

"I agree with you, but don't you think you were a little hard on him?" Misty pointed out.

"Yeah, maybe. I just got really ticked off when he started putting down you and your family's gym." Ash admitted.

"Trip is young and just starting out as a trainer." Professor Juniper reminded them. "He still has a lot to learn."

"I used to be like that kid too." Gary pointed out. "Remember Ash?"

"Oh yeah, you were terrible." Ash said with a slight laugh. "I still remember when you traveled with those cheerleaders."

"Yeah, but after awhile I got over it, and I'm sure that kid will too." Gary told him. "So try and cut him some slack next time."

"I'll try, but he probably won't make it easy." Ash replied. "Well Misty, should we get going?"

"Sounds good to me." Misty replied, and with that they waved to Gary and Professor Juniper as they headed off to the first gym in Unova.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Usually the rivals Ash has had in the anime have been jerks, but Trip takes being a jerk to a whole new level. I mean he's just such an arrogant little twerp. I've actually wanted to punch him in the face. But then it's because of all those traits that makes it so fun to write him into this story, so Ash can give him a bit of an "education". On that note, you can probably guess that Ash has a few issues from what happened to him in the last story, so don't be surprised if he fights a little more aggressively in some of his battles. As for Misty getting Oshawott, I get tired of Ash getting all the Starter Pokemon of whatever region he's in every time. At least the Hoenn and Sinnoh sagas broke up that trend a tiny bit. But this time around, Ash is only going to get one of the Unova Starters, and the third one is going to go to his other traveling companion. On that note, the character Ash and Misty will be traveling with in this story won't be the one you expect.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	3. Three Times the Challenge

**Author's Note:** Since the next story I plan to work on along side this one is going to be a Pokemon story, and because this story is just getting off the ground, I'm going to be alternating a little between the two stories. I'm rather glad I did, because this chapter ended up being way longer than I thought. Anyway, for the next couple of weeks I'll probably be doing more than one chapter a week for this story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 2: Three Times the Challenge

It had been an uneventful trip since the day Ash and Misty began their travels through Unova. After two days the couple had finally arrived in Striation City. Upon arriving in the city, Ash and Misty noticed a large group of people that seemed to have gathered to watch something. Curious, the couple went over to investigate. As they got closer they could hear a man talking as if he was preaching something.

Ash and Misty pushed their way through the crowd of people to get a closer look. When they got to the front row they saw that the person speaking was a robed man with long greenish-brown hair and a red lens with a white frame over his right eye. The left side of his robes was purple with gold decorative lines, a few of which formed the shape of an eye. The right side of his robes had the exact opposite color scheme. Over his robes on his upper torso the man wore brown armor resembling the top of a castle battlement. On the chest of the armor was a shield-like symbol that was black one side, white on the other, and had a blue letter P.

Standing in a row behind this oddly dressed gentleman were men and women wearing grey chain mail armor and white tunics, giving them the appearance of medieval knights. On the front of their tunics was the same shield-like symbol that was on the robed man's armor.

"…And ask yourselves this people of Striation City, if humans truly consider Pokemon their equals, then why are they kept caged in Pokeballs?" the robed man preached. "Why are they forced to battle each other in pointless combat? The simple fact is my good people that humans and Pokemon are not equal, that they cannot coexist. So I say to you now people of Striation City, release your Pokemon! For if you do not, than you people are nothing more than criminals."

"What's going on here?" Ash interrupted as he stepped towards the robed man.

"Ah, I see we have some latecomers to our little demonstration." The robed man observed. "Allow me to introduce myself young man, I am Ghetsis, one of the seven sages of Team Plasma, and I have come to spread the word of our noble cause."

"Team Plasma, huh? Is that anything like Team Rocket or Team Galactic?" Ash asked as he narrowed his eyes at Ghetsis.

"Young man, I am appalled that you would lump us together with thieves and psychopaths!" Ghetsis said sounding offended. "We follow the pure and noble ideals of our leader, who seeks equality for humans and Pokemon."

"Humans and Pokemon are equal!" Ash retorted.

"That is only an illusion." Ghetsis maintained. "In reality Pokemon are but slaves to human race, forced to use their magnificent powers for labor and entertainment. Only until the human race releases their Pokemon back out into the wild will they truly become free. But I don't expect someone like you to understand, you who abuse Pokemon like all other trainers."

"I don't abuse any of my Pokemon!" Ash shot back. "And I don't buy any of this crap you're preaching! So why don't you and your friends just leave?"

"Yeah, get lost old man!" a gentleman in the crowd yelled.

"We've had enough of your crackpot preaching!" a woman in the crowd yelled.

Before long the gather of people had become very restless. Suddenly the short but distinct sound of a police siren wailed, causing the crowd to stop and turn. What arrived at the scene was a woman with very short green hair wearing a tan police uniform, standing next to a white and black motorcycle with red and blue lights on the front.

"Okay, break it up!" the policewoman ordered. "Everyone just go home and cool off! That's enough for today."

The crowd of people began to disperse, though Ash and Misty stayed behind. The policewoman then began walking towards Ash and Ghetsis.

"I apologize for this disturbance Officer Jenny. I did not mean to cause such trouble." Ghetsis said to the policewoman.

"Officer Jenny?" Ash repeated in surprise, as the woman before him looked distinctly different from the members of the Officer Jenny family he had met in the past.

"Look Mr. Ghetsis, I don't have any problem with you holding these little demonstrations as long as they're peaceful." Officer Jenny informed him. "I think it'd be better if you and your friends just left town."

"Very well, but mark my words, we shall continue to spread our word elsewhere." Ghetsis told her.

Ghetsis and his Team Plasma underlings walked off. Officer Jenny then turned to face Ash.

"As for you young man, you're lucky I don't bring you in for inciting a riot." Officer Jenny warned.

"Uh, Ash didn't mean to cause trouble Officer Jenny." Misty chimed in. "It won't happen again."

"Just keep your nose clean while you're here, both of you." Officer Jenny told them before walking back to her motorcycle.

"So that was really an Officer Jenny?" Misty said to Ash as Officer Jenny rode off.

"I guess they grow 'em differently here in Unova." Ash commented.

"Hey, I get why you blew up at guy Ghetsis like that, but I don't think you handled it very well." Misty pointed out.

"Yeah, I just didn't expect to see another group like Team Rocket and Team Galactic here in Unova." Ash admitted. "I guess there are people like that all over the world."

"So what, you're going to pick fights with all of them?" Misty asked.

"I guess that would be pretty stupid, wouldn't it?" Ash agreed, seeing Misty's point. "I'd probably get thrown in jail like I almost did today. Well, why don't we try and find the gym here?"

"Excuse me, but did you just say that you're looking for the Striation City Gym?" a voice suddenly asked. Ash and Misty turned to see standing behind them a young man with green hair wearing a white formal shirt, a black vest and pants, and a green bowtie. He looked as though he were the waiter at a fancy restaurant. "I was just passing by and couldn't help but overhear. If you like, I could lead you to the gym."

"Hey that'd be great, thanks." Ash replied. "My name's Ash, by the way."

"And I'm Misty." Misty added in introduction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both." The young man said with a bow. "My name is Cilan."

"Nice to meet you too." Ash told him.

"I noticed that you have a Pikachu with you." Cilan observed. "That's not a Pokemon that you find here in Unova. If you don't mind me asking, where did you get it?"

"Oh, I got Pikachu when I first started out on my journey." Ash explained. "Misty and I are from Kanto."

"I see, so then Pikachu is your first Pokemon then." Cilan deduced.

"That's right." Ash confirmed. "Now, do you mind leading us to the gym?"

"Of course. Follow me." Cilan replied.

After a few minutes of walking through the city, Clian brought Ash and Misty to a white building that looked more like a restaurant than a Pokemon Gym. And when they went inside, Ash and Misty were surprised to see that a restaurant was just what the place appeared to be. They had been brought to a fancy upper class restaurant with red walls and white clothed tabled set up all around. At quite a few of the tables were young ladies who were either in the middle of a meal or just visiting with each other.

As Ash and Misty tried to figure out just what was going on, two young men who were not only dressed like Cilan but also bore a slight resemblance to him, approached. One had red hair styled to look like a flame and wore a red bowtie. The other had slightly long blue hair styled to look like falling water and a matching blue bowtie.

"I see our brother Cilan has brought us some new costumers." The blue-haired young man observed. "My name is Cress. Welcome to our establishment."

"And my name is Chili." The red haired young man greeted. "Let us show you to your table."

Before either Ash or Misty could say anything, Cilan and his two brothers escorted and seated them at a small table in an intimate corner of the restaurant. Once the couple, along with Pikachu and Lucario, was seated, Cilan and Cress left and Chili handed the two of them menus.

"Please take your time in deciding what you want." Chili said to the couple. "I'll be back in a few minutes to take your orders." With that, Chili walked off to attend to another table.

"What the heck's going on here?" Ash wondered.

"I guess Cilan just lied to us to get more costumers for his family's restaurant." Misty assumed. "Still, this does look like a pretty nice place."

"Hmm… well, we haven't had lunch today." Ash pointed out. "Why don't we just eat here?"

"But what about you gym battle?" Misty asked.

"It's no problem." Ash assured her. "It didn't seem like Cilan was lying when he said he'd take us to the gym. So I'm sure there's a reason why he brought us here."

"You're usually more fired up than this when it comes to gym battles." Misty pointed out with a slightly worried expression. "In the past you'd make a big fuss in situations like this."

"Well, I was younger than." Ash pointed out. "And even though it has been a long time since my last gym battle, I'm not any hurry. Besides, when's the last time I took you out to a place like this?"

"You've never taken me out to a place like this.' Misty reminded him.

"Oh, right…. Well then, let me make it up to you right now." Ash suggested.

"Well when you put it that way…" Misty relented with a small laugh.

Before long, Chili returned and took Ash and Misty's orders. He returned several minutes later with not only a large lunch, but also two large bowls of Pokemon food for Pikachu and Lucario. Ash and Misty then talked and had a relaxing meal.

"Wow, that was great!" Ash declared as they finished eating.

"I'm glad the meal was to your liking." Chili said as he came back. "Well here you go." He then handed the bill to Ash. Ash looked at the bill and his eyes widened in surprise.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Ash shouted, causing all the other patrons in the restaurant to look in his direction.

"Is there a problem?" Chili asked.

"You bet there's a problem!" Ash said angrily. "This bill is outrageous! I didn't think you'd charge this much!"

"Well the prices were clearly marked." Chill told him as he handed him a copy of the menu. Ash looked and squinted as he tried to read the numbers in small print.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? YOU'D NEED A MICROSCOPE TO READ THESE PRICES!" Ash shouted. "YOU HONESTLY EXPECT ME TO PAY THIS?"

"Well…" Chili began to say.

"Look, I was willing to play along for awhile, but now I've had enough!" Ash interrupted. "Now I came here in the first place for a gym battle!"

"Did someone say gym battle?" Cilan enthusiastically cut in from across the room. He snapped his fingers and suddenly the lights dimmed. A spotlight then shined, and in an instant the three brothers took dramatic poses in the center of the room. "If you wanted a gym battle, then you've come to the right place! Welcome to the Striation City Gym!"

"This restaurant is the gym?" Misty said in surprise.

"That's right." Cilan confirmed. "And my brothers and I are the gym leaders. I specialize in the Grass type."

"My specialty lies in the Water type." Cress said with a bow.

"And I use the burning power of Fire-type Pokemon!" Chili announced as he made a dramatic pose with his fists.

"Wait, all three of you are the gym leaders?" Ash asked looking surprised.

"Yes, and we're actually a little surprised that you waited so long to challenge us." Cilan replied. "Usually trainers challenge us as soon as they sit down."

"Well excuse me for trying to show my girlfriend a good time!" Ash yelled.

"Look, if you have a problem with the bill, there is a way around it." Cress revealed. "Win the badge of our gym and you eat for free."

"That's right, we're aware that our prices are a little steep, and you're actually not the first trainer to make this little mistake." Chili explained. "So our policy is that if the trainer in question beats one of us, that trainer doesn't have to pay the bill."

"What do you mean beat one of you?" Ash asked.

"It's simple really, trainers who challenge this gym have to battle the brother who's Pokemon have a type advantage against the trainer's first Pokemon." Cress explained. "Cilan told us that you're first Pokemon is that Pikachu you have with you."

"And since Electric Pokemon are at a disadvantage to Grass-types, your opponent is going to be me!" Cilan announced.

"Oh no! You guys aren't getting off that easy!" Ash told them. "If all three of you are the gym leader here, then I'm taking all of you on!"

"Wait, you want to fight all three of us?" Cilan asked looking shocked.

"No one's ever asked to fight all three of us." Chili revealed. The three brothers then huddled together to speak amongst themselves. All the while the restaurant patrons were murmuring amongst themselves.

"Okay, you can battle all three of us, but we'll do it like this." Cress said after they broke apart. "It'll be a three on three battle. My brothers and I will take turns and use one Pokemon. Sound good?"

"Fine by me." Ash agreed.

"One other thing." Cress added. "Since my brothers and I are going to be taking turns fighting you, you'll have to change Pokemon after each battle."

"You sure about that? I only have three Pokemon on me right now, and the third isn't really one I like to use in gym battles." Ash informed them.

"It's either that or you just battle Cilan like originally planed." Chili told him.

"Okay, but don't say I didn't warn you." Ash replied.

"Excellent, then let the show begin!" Cress said with the snap of his fingers.

Suddenly the floor began to move and the inside of the restaurant expanded open revealing a large pit. A dirt stadium floor then rose from the pit and stopped six feet below the edge. A set of stairs then expanded form each end of the pit down to the stadium floor. Ash and Misty then became aware that the young ladies at the restaurant had changed into cheerleader outfits.

"Hey, were these girls actually costumers or are they just fans?" Ash asked.

"A little of both." Chili answered as he and his brothers walked into the pit. "Now, you mind joining us down here?"

Ash went down into the stadium pit with Pikachu and Lucario. Misty and the cheerleaders then gathered around the edge of the pit to watch the coming battle.

"Okay, the first battle will be between Ash and Chili." Cress announced after taking a position beside the battlefield. Ash and Chili took their positions.

"Let me introduce you to my Pokemon! Go Pansear!" Chili called as he threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the thrown ball was a small monkey-like creature with a large head and big ears. Much of its fur was red, but the lower half of its face, upper torso, and arms were yellow. It had a tuft of fur on its forehead in the shape of a large flame. Ash got out his Pokedex to try and find out more about the Pokemon.

"Pansear, the High Temp Pokemon." The Pokedex identified in a mechanical voice. "Pansear prefere to use the 600 degree flame in the tuft of fur on its forehead to roast berries before eating them."

"Okay then, you're up Lucario." Ash said to the jackal Pokemon. Lucario nodded and took position on the stadium floor.

"Wait, you're using a Steel-type against a Fire-type?" Chili asked looking surprised.

"Type advantage isn't everything." Ash reminded him.

"Let the battle begin!" Cress announced.

"Okay Pansear, use Flamethrower!" Chili ordered.

Pansear spat a stream of flames at Lucario. The jackal Pokemon raised its arms to deflect the attack but still took some damage.

"Lucario, use Dragon Pulse!" Ash commanded.

"Dodge and use Flamethrower again!" Chili commanded.

Lucario brought its forepaws together and between them formed a ball of greenish-blue light. The jackal Pokemon fired the ball of light at Pansear, but the fire monkey rolled out of the way onto the ground and then got on Lucario's left. It then breathed out another stream of flames at Lucario. Just as before, Lucario raised its arms to deflect the attack, yet it still took damage.

"Alright, now charge and use Fire Punch!" Chili Ordered.

"Use Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded.

Pansear ran at Lucario with its right fist covered in flames. At the last second Lucario moved its body out of the way and got behind Pansear. Seconds later it struck Pansear in the back of the head with a paw glowing with a white light. Pansear staggered for a moment but soon recovered.

"Wow, not bad." Chili commented. "But we're not out yet! Pansear, use Dig!"

In an instant Pansear quickly dug a hole into the stadium floor with its arms and went underground. Lucario closed its eyes and stood perfectly still on the battlefield. Ash took a deep breath and also closed his eyes.

"Hey, what're you guys doing?" Chili asked. Ash remained silent and kept his eyes closed. Suddenly both Ash and Lucario opened their eyes and Lucario jumped back.

"Now! Use Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded. In a matter of seconds, Pansear burst up from the ground where Lucario had been standing moments before. Lucario quickly brought its paws together and fire a ball of blue light that hit Pansear in the chest. "Finish it with Bullet Punch!"

While Pansear was still in the air after being hit by the Aura Sphere, Lucario punched Pansear in the jaw with a glowing white paw. The force of the punch propelled Pansear into the far wall behind Chili and caused the fire monkey to leave an impression. Pansear fell to the ground unconscious. Chili stood in awe looking at Ash and Lucario.

"Pansear is unable to battle!" Cress declared. "Victory goes to Ash!"

"Yeah, alright!" Misty cheered above the stadium. Meanwhile many of the cheerleaders had sad expressions on their faces.

Chili called Pansear back to its Pokeball and then turned back to look at Ash for a moment. He then walked off to the sidelines and Cress took his place. Cilan then took Cress's place as the judge.

"Okay, the next battle is between Ash and Cress!" Cilan announced.

"Time to introduce my Pokemon. Go Panpour!" Cress called out as he threw a Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was a monkey similar to Pansear, but there were a few differences. Its lower body, legs, forearms, and much of its tail were yellow like the lower half of its face. The rest of its fur was blue and on top of its head was a tuft of fur that looked like water bursting out of a geyser. Ash got out his Pokedex again to get a better look.

"Panpour, the Spray Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "The water inside the tuft of fur on its head is contains nutrients that are highly beneficial to plants."

"Okay then, let's go Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" Pikachu said enthusiastically as it jumped off Ash's shoulder onto the battlefield.

"An Electric-type against a Water-type, a pretty predictable move." Cress commented.

"Hey, it usually works." Ash reminded him.

"True, but as you said to my brother, type advantage isn't everything." Cress reminded him.

"Let the battle… begin!" Cilan announced.

"Alight Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pik… a… CHUU!" Pikachu cried as it shot a bolt of yellow electricity at Panpour.

"Panpour, dodge and use Mud Sport!" Cress commanded.

Panpour rolled out of the way of the lightning bolt seconds before it hit. Its paws then began to glow with an orange light. The water monkey slammed its paws into the ground, creating a huge wave of mud that hit Pikachu. Pikachu was unharmed, but he was having a hard time standing up, as he kept slipping on the mud.

"What the heck was that?" Ash asked.

"Mud Sport, it doesn't cause any damage but it does dampen the power of Electric-type moves." Cress explained.

"Well Piakchu and I still have a few tricks up our sleeves." Ash told him. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"

Pikachu jumped high up in the air and its tail began to glow with a white light. As he flipped in the air, the tail changed to look like a piece of metal.

"Nice try. Use Double Team Panpour!" Cress commanded.

Just as Pikachu was about to slam his metal tail into the top of Panpour's head, the water monkey suddenly split into three identical monkeys. Pikachu slammed his tail into the middle Panpour, but it vanished into thin air as soon as he did. A second of the water monkeys vanished and the remaining quickly ran and got behind Pikachu.

"Now use Scald!" Cress ordered. Panpour opened its mouth and sprayed Piakchu with a stream of steaming hot water.

"CHAAAA!" Pikachu cried as he was hit by the watery blast. When the attack ended, Pikachu's back looked red and swollen.

"Oh no! Pikachu!" a worried Ash called out.

"Well, looks like Pikachu got burned by Panpour's Scald attack." Cress observed. "That's what happens sometimes though."

"A water attack that can cause a burn?" Misty said with a look of worry and surprise. "I've never heard of that before."

"Okay Panpour, let's wrap this one up!" Cress commanded back on the battlefield. "Use Scratch!"

Panpour struck Pikachu across his already wounded back with its paw, causing the electric rodent to cry out in pain yet again. Pikachu then fell to the ground face first and did not get back up.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" Cilan declared. "Victory goes to Cress!"

Ash quickly ran onto the battlefield to get Pikachu as the cheering section for the brothers began to celebrate. Meanwhile, Cress walked to the sidelines as Cilan took his place.

"You okay buddy?" Ash asked Pikachu as he gently picked him up off the ground.

"Pika." Pikachu said with a weak smile.

"Well, we're pretty much tied." Cilan observed. "It'll all come down to this battle."

"You know, I'm still pretty hesitant about using my third Pokemon." Ash said with a smirk. "Like I told you before, it's not a Pokemon I really like using in gym battles."

"Well if you feel that strongly about it, you could forfeit." Cilan suggested.

"And lose out on a gym badge and have to pay a huge bill? I don't think so." Ash told him.

"Okay, the final battle shall be between Ash and Cilan!" Chili announced after taking Cilan's place as judge.

"It's battle time!" Cilan announced as he threw out a Pokeball. "Come on out Pansage!"

Emerging from the Pokaball was a monkey-like Pokemon that looked very similar to both Pansear and Panpour. The lower half of its face was yellow, along with its torso and arms, while the rest of its body was green. It looked as though a shrub was growing out the top of its head. Just as he did with the other two monkeys, Ash got out his Pokedex to get a closer look.

"Pansage, the Grass Monkey Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "The leaves on this Pokemon's head have been known to relieve stress. It often shares these leaves with weary Pokemon."

"So, are you going to send out your last Pokemon?" Cilan asked.

"If you say so." Ash shrugged. "Go Ho-Oh!"

The great bird burst forth from its thrown ball with a shriek and sat down on the battlefield before Pansage. All three of the brothers and their cheering section were completely stunned upon seeing Ho-Oh. Pansage began to quake as it looked up at the great bird. Meanwhile Ho-Oh looked down at Pansage as if to dare the grass monkey to try something.

"A… a Ho-Oh?" Cilan said as the color began to drain from his face.

"Sacred Fire." Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh spread its great wings and its eyes began to glow with a blue light. Its body became covered in magnificent rose-colored flames. With a flap of its wings, Ho-Oh sent forth a wave of fire at the grass monkey. When the attack had ended, Pansage coughed out a cloud of black smoke and fell to its back.

"…Uh, Pansage is unable to battle." Chili declared after a moment. "Victory goes to Ash."

With the battle ended, Ash and Cilan called back their Pokemon. Cilan walked over to Ash rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, you win." Cilan admitted as he pulled something out of his pocket. "So as proof, here's the Trio Badge."

"Alright! Thanks." Ash said as he took the small badge Cilan was offering and put it in his inner vest pocket. "You know maybe you should just have the trainers challenging the gym eat for free win or lose."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Cilan agreed. "I apologize for that. Anyway, the next gym you might want to try out is in Nacrene City."

"Then that's where I'll head for next!" Ash decided.

* * *

A few minutes later Ash and Misty had left the gym and headed for the Pokemon Center to tend to Pikachu and Lucario's wounds. Upon entering the building they saw a woman at the desk with reddish pink hair wearing a fairly modern pink nurse's outfit, complete with hat.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Center." The woman at the front desk greeted. "How may I help you?"

"Uh, are you Nurse Joy?" Ash asked with a somewhat surprised expression.

"That's right." The woman confirmed.

"Oh, well I just won a battle at the gym and my Pokemon got a little beat up." Ash explained.

"Ah, no problem. Just give me your Pokemon for a few minutes and they'll be good as new!" Nurse Joy assured him. Ash handed Pikachu and Ho-Oh's Pokeball to Nurse Joy. Lucario then followed Nurse Joy as she then went into the back room.

"I guess they grow the Nurse Joys differently in Unova too." Misty observed, noting how different the Nurse Joy they had just met looked from the ones they had met in the past.

"There you guys are!" a familiar voice called. Ash and Misty turned to see Chili standing at the door carrying a large backpack. "I was hoping I'd catch you before you left the Pokemon Center."

"What is it Chili?" Ash asked.

"Well, I wanted to ask you to do something." Chili said before getting down on his hands and knees and bowing before Ash. "Make me your disciple."

"Huh?" Ash said with a look of surprise.

"Please, I'd like to travel with you Ash." Chili begged. "I've never before met someone with such fiery intensity and keen focus. I feel like I could become a lot stronger if I traveled with you."

"But what about you family's gym?" Misty asked.

"My brothers can get along without me for awhile." Chili assured her. "So what do you say Ash? Will you let me come with you?"

"What do you think Misty?" Ash asked his girlfriend.

"Well, it might be nice to have someone else travel with us." Misty replied.

"Okay then Chili, you can tag along." Ash finally agreed.

"Yes! Thank you!" Chili cheered as he jumped back to his feet.

"No problem." Ash told him. "Okay, once Pikachu and Lucario are back on their feet, it's off to the next gym!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** One thing I decided going into this story is that I did not want Cilan to be Ash and Misty's traveling companion. The main reason is because I simply do not like Cilan. So I decided to have Chili travel along with them instead. I felt like I could do a little more comic relief stuff with him.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Poison Snivy

**Author's Note:** I apologize for the title of this chapter, since I know it's a really bad pun. It's also a reference to the Batman villain, Poison Ivy.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 3: Poison Snivy

A day had passed since Ash's battle at the Striation City Gym, and since that time Ash, Misty, and Chili had set out on the road to the next gym on Nacrene City. The trip had so far been uneventful but there was a slight problem that had continued to persist, they were lost. Apparently in his haste to join Ash and Misty on their travels, Chili had forgotten to bring a map of Unova with him. And though he knew of the towns that lied between Striation City and Nacrene, he could not recall the exact route. That afternoon, the group had come to a fork in the road, and they of course did not know which path to take.

"Let's see, I know the first town on the way to Nacrene City is a place called Evergreen Town, but I can't remember if it's left or right." Chili said as he scratched his head in confusion.

"Explain again why you forgot to bring a map." Misty said with a slight amount of irritation in her voice.

"Like I said, I was just really excited about traveling with you guys, and sometimes my fiery enthusiasm gets the better of me." Chili exclaimed with an embarrassed smile. As Chili spoke, Ash noticed a parson walking through the field in the opposite direction they were traveling.

"Hey, I'm gonna go ask that guy over there for directions." Ash told his companions. "You guys just wait here."

With that, Ash walked off, leaving Pikachu and Lucario with Misty and Chili. As he got closer, he saw that the man he was approaching was an old man with a completely baldhead that looked as if it had been shaved. He wore robes of red and black, making him look like a sort of Buddhist monk. Over her shoulder he carried a large tattered brown satchel.

"Excuse me sir." Ash began to say to the old monk, getting his attention. "I was wondering…"

"You! You are the one!" the old monk said as he pointed dramatically at Ash. "You are the one I have been searching for!"

"Uh…" Ash tried to interrupt.

"Yes, there is no doubt in my mind." The old monk continued. "Your spirit shines like the rays of the sun. There is no question that we were destined to meet."

"That's great, but…" Ash tried again to interrupt, but the old monk quickly pulled out of his satchel a large case containing a good-sized egg that was white on the top and had a pattern of orange flames on the lower half.

"Five days ago, my order discovered this egg in the training field behind our temple." The old monk went on. "We knew right away that this egg contains the child of the sun. And I was entrusted with the task of finding a young trainer that could raise this egg. There is no doubt in my mind that you are the trainer I was meant to give the egg to, so I ask you now to take it."

"Okay, thanks." Ash said as he humored the old monk and took the egg case from him. "But I just wanted to ask for directions to Evergreen Town."

"Oh, it's down the path on the left." The old monk told him. "You'll know you're getting close when you start seeing more trees."

"Okay then, thanks." Ash said with a grateful smile.

"Travel well, young one." The old monk said as he walked on. In moments, Ash rejoined Misty and the others.

"So did you find out the way to Evergreen Town?" Chili asked.

"Yeah, we go down the path on the left." Ash explained.

"What's with the egg?" Misty asked.

"Oh yeah, that old guy gave it to me." Ash replied. "He thought that I was meant to have it, said that I shined like the sun or something. Anyway, we should probably get going before it gets dark."

After Ash put the egg case in his bag, he and the others set off down the path. After what seemed like half an hour of walking, they started to notice more and more trees around them. The trees continued to get thicker and thicker until it seemed as though they had entered a small forest. Suddenly Ash stopped when he felt a heat emanating from the blue bag he had slung over his left shoulder. He set the bag down and pulled out the egg case that the old monk had given to him. The egg looked as if it was glowing red with heat.

"What is it Ash?" Misty asked after noticing that Ash had stopped.

"It's this egg, it's hot for some reason." Ash explained. "And I think it's getting hotter."

"Wow, you're right." Misty said as she got down to take a closer look at the egg. "I've never seen an egg do this before."

"Hey Ash, mind of I take a look?" Chili asked.

"Sure." Ash replied. "You think you know what's going on Chili?"

"I think so." Chili said as he got down and took the lid off the egg case. He then touched the egg with his finger and quickly pulled it back due to the intense heat, causing him to jump to his feet and shake his hand in pain. "Ouch! Yeah, there's no doubt about it now. The Pokemon in that egg has either Flame Body or Magma Armor as an ability."

"Flame Body and Magma Armor?" Misty repeated.

"Yeah, they're Fire Pokemon abilities." Chili explained. "Flame Body can sometimes burn the opponent if it touches the Pokemon, and Magma Armor protects the Pokemon from getting frozen. Both abilities cause Pokemon eggs to hatch faster."

"You sure seem to know a lot about Fire Pokemon." Ash observed.

"Well it is my specialty." Chili reminded him. "One day I plan to open my own Fire Pokemon Gym here in Unova. But I need to get stronger first, which is why I'm traveling with you."

"Hey! The egg just got brighter." Misty noticed, seeing the red glow of the egg intensify.

"Uh oh, that means it's about to hatch!" Chili realized. "We better get it out of the case, quickly!"

Ash promptly took off his vest and wrapped it around his hands to protect himself from the heat. He then pulled the burning egg out of the case and set in on the ground. The five gathered around and watched as the egg continued to glow brighter and brighter. Suddenly the egg exploded into a ball of fire, causing the group to step back a little. The flames quickly cleared to reveal a creature that looked like a very large insect larva. It had six tiny black legs and the rear half of its body was brown. The front half of its body meanwhile was covered with thick white fuzz, leaving only its two front legs and black face uncovered. It had two blue eyes and around what could be considered its neck were five red slightly curved horns that resembled the rays of the sun.

"Awesome, it's a Larvesta!" Chili said excitedly.

"BUUUUUUUUGGGGGG!" Misty screamed as she ran back ten feet and hid behind a tree.

"What's her problem?" Chili asked Ash.

"She just has some weird thing about Bug Pokemon." Ash explained as he pulled out his Pokedex. "Let's find out more about this Pokemon."

"Larvesta, the Tourch Pokemon." The Pokedex identified in its mechanical voice. "Many people believe that this Pokemon was born from the sun. Larvesta evolves by wrapping itself in a cocoon of flames."

"I guess that's what that old monk meant when he said the egg was the child of the sun." Ash realized. "Hey Misty! Come check this out!"

"I can see things perfectly well from behind this tree, thank you!" Misty called back. Larvesta meanwhile turned and looked at Ash, then Chili, then at Pikachu and Lucario.

"Pika!" Pikachu greeted enthusiastically to the fire larva. Larvesta then skittered off and went behind the very tree that Misty was hiding behind.

"AAAAAAUUUUUGGGHHH!" Misty screamed. "ASH, GET THIS DAMN BUG OFF ME AND INTO ITS POKEBALL!"

Moments later Ash had called Larvesta into the Pokeball that had come with the egg case. Ash had since repeatedly apologized to Misty about the incident. But eventually Misty had calmed down, and soon they had reached Evergreen Town. The little town of Evergreen looked to be made up of small grey houses with bright green roofs. Along the roads and paths of the town in several places were rectangular hedges covered in little pink flowers. Upon arriving in the town the group decided to stop by the local Pokemon Center. They entered the building to find yet another Nurse Joy at the front desk.

"Good afternoon." Nurse Joy greeted. "How may I help you today?"

"Well for starters, do you have a map of the Unova Region I could have?" Chili asked.

"Of course." Nurse said as she got into her desk and pulled out a folded up map. "Where are you headed?"

"We're on our way to Nacrene City." Ash explained as Chili took the map.

"Oh, well you better be careful on your way out of town." Nurse Joy informed them. "There's been a wild Snivy causing problems on a construction site in that area."

"Did you say a wild Snivy?" Ash asked with a surprised expression.

"Yes, a female." Nurse Joy confirmed. "She appeared three days ago and started interfering with the construction."

"Has anyone tried to stop her?" Chili asked.

"A few trainers like you who were passing through tried but they couldn't get to her." Nurse Joy explained. "Somehow this Snivy has taken control of all the Pokemon that have been helping with the construction."

"How did she do that?" Misty asked.

"No one's been able to figure that out. And if this keeps up, they may have to cancel the construction." Nurse Joy said grimly. Suddenly the computer behind Nurse Joy began to ring like a phone, getting her attention. "Oh, I have to take this excuse me." As Nurse Joy went over to answer the phone, Ash and the others huddled together.

"So should we go check this out?" Misty asked the others.

"I'd certainly know how this Snivy is controlling other Pokemon." Ash replied. "Besides, Nurse Joy did say that it was a wild Snivy. And I haven't actually caught any new Pokemon since coming here. Let's go!"

After leaving the Pokemon Center, Ash and the others headed for the outskirts of town. Before long they had arrived at a burned down section of trees. Parked in front of this burned forest were a few vans, bulldozers, and a large wooden trailer. Two men were standing out in front of the trailer arguing about something. One had well groomed blond hair and wore a black suit and red tie. The other was a fairly muscular man with brown hair wearing a white construction helmet, white tank top, blue jeans, brown work gloves, and old brown boots.

"…I don't care about your little problems! I want results Langer, and I want them today!" the suited man yelled.

"But Mr. Blackwater, I keep telling you we can't start tearing down this forest until we get our own Pokemon under control." The man in the white construction hat known as Langer informed him.

"Then find away to do that or run them over! I don't care!" the suited man known as Blackwater shouted. "Every day this project is delayed is another day I lose money!"

"Uh, excuse me." Ash interrupted. "My friends and I heard about a wild Snivy has been causing trouble around here and came to check it out."

"Are you Pokemon Trainers?" Blackwater asked.

"Yeah." Ash confirmed.

"Then perhaps you can be of use." Blackwater told them. "My name is Edger Blackwater, and I'm the one responsible for this little construction project. The oaf you just saw me arguing with is my foreman, Martin Langer."

"What exactly are you building here?" Misty asked.

"We're supposed to be building a new shopping center here." Blackwater explained. "One that will bring this little backwater town into the future, but that damn Snivy has been interfearing!"

"What happened exactly?" Chili asked.

"Three days ago that Snivy showed up and seemed to cast some kind of spell on the Pokemon my guys and I brought with us to help with the construction." Langer answered. "We can't explain it. They just suddenly started acting weird and stopped listening to us and started working for that Snivy. Even my own Conkeldurr stopped listening to me. They've been hiding out in the forest with that Snivy ever since, and every time we try to tear down the forest to start building the shopping center they attack. We've lost five bulldozers already."

"Look, the bottom line is that I want that Snivy gone an I don't care what it takes!" Blackwater cut in. "Capture it, defeat it, just get it out of that forest! Do that I'll pay you all a handsome sum. Now if you'll excuse me I have work to do." With that, Blackwater stormed into his trailer.

"Nice guy." Ash said sarcastically.

"I don't like him either, but he's my boss." Langer admitted. "Still, we could really use all the help we can get right now. Other trainers like you have already tried and failed, I guess it just goes to show just how tough our construction Pokemon really are. But we're really desperate right now, so could you please help?"

"Well I did come to try and catch that Snivy. So we'll see what we can do." Ash told him.

Ash and the others then entered the burned forest with Langer. All around them were blackened leafless trees as far as the eye could see.

"So how long ago did this forest burn down?" Misty asked Langer.

"It happened a little over four months." Langer began. "A lightning strike burned down this part of the forest around town. They got it contained before it spread, but this area never really recovered. Then a few weeks ago Mr. Blackwater came into town and offered to tear down these woods and put up a shopping center. He said it'd be good for the town, and in the end the town agreed." Suddenly Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario stopped walking, causing the others to stop as well.

"What is it Ash?" Misty asked.

"We've got company." Ash said as he narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly emerging from behind the trees were four slightly humanoid creatures, each one carrying a red steel beam. They were grey and had muscular hourglass-shaped bodies with well-developed arms that had pink shoulders and bulging pink veins. The tops of their heads were lumpy and they had large violet noses like that of a clown. Each of the four Pokemon had a goofy grin on its face.

"Those are four of our Gurdurr!" Langer informed the others.

"What's with those expressions?" Chili wondered. Before anyone could come up with a guess, one of the Gurdurr charged at the group swinging its steel beam. They scattered before the muscle Pokemon could land a blow.

"Well, whatever the reason for those smiles is, it looks like they wanna fight." Ash observed. "Looks like we've got no choice."

"Fine by me. Go Pansear!" Chili called as he threw out a Pokeball. The fire monkey emerged to face one of the Gurdurr.

"Go Oshawott!" Misty called out as she threw two Pokeballs. "You two Politoed!"

"Osha!" Oshawott cried as it emerged from its ball. Emerging from the other ball was a large green frog-like creature with pink cheeks, a yellow stomach with a green swirl in it, and a single long hair on the top of its head.

"Use Water Gun!" Misty commanded the two Pokemon.

Both Oshawott and Politoed spat out powerful streams of water at two of the Gurdurr, forcing them back slightly. Meanwhile the Gurdurr that Pansear was facing charged at the fire monkey with a raised fist glowing with an orange light.

"Quick Pansear, use Dig!" Chili commanded.

Before the Gurdurr could land a blow, Pansage quickly dug a hole and tunneled underground that caused the punch to miss. A second later the ground erupted beneath the Gurdurr and Pansear struck with a powerful punch. But just as that Gurdurr was knocked off its feet, the fourth charged at Pansear swinging its beam.

"Lucario, use Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded. Lucario then jumped in and struck the Gurdurr in the nose with a glowing paw before it could attack Pansear. "Okay Pikachu, let's finish this! Use Thunder Bolt!"

"Pik… a… CHUUUU!" the electric rodent cried as it sent out a blast of yellow electricity.

The blast hit all four of the Gurdurr, causing them to cry out, as they were shocked. When the attack ended, all four of the Gurdurr fell to the ground unconscious. With the battle over, Misty and Chili called back Oshawott, Politoed, and Pansear.

"Looks like we got them all." Chili assumed.

"It's not over yet." Ash told him. "Look."

As if on cue, another Pokemon emerged from behind a tree. It looked similar to Gurdurr, only larger and more ogre-like. Its skin was more sepia colored than grey. Its face had a pronounced brow and a large red clown nose. On its chin was something that looked like a small grey beard, and on the top of its head was a sort of bulbous growth. In each of its large hands it carried a concrete beam.

"It's my Conkeldurr!" Langer informed the others. The group quickly noticed that Conkeldurr had the same goofy expression that the four Gurdurr had. The muscular Pokemon suddenly began to charge.

"Quick Lucario, use Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded. Lucario quickly leapt forward and punched Conkeldurr in its large nose with a glowing right paw, knocking the muscular Pokemon off balance. "Now use Dragon Pulse!"

In an instant, Lucario brought its paws together and fired a ball of blue-green energy that hit Conkeldurr in the chest. Conkeldurr fell backward and was out cold. Langer quickly ran over to check on his fallen Pokemon. After a moment Conkeldurr began to wake up.

"You okay pal?" Langer asked. Conkeldurr nodded weakly and slowly got back to its feet. "You could definitely use a rest. Return." And with that, Conkeldurr was called back into its Pokeball.

"Sorry Lucario and I had to do that Mr. Langer." Ash said to the foremen.

"Don't worry about it. In fact I should be thanking you. Getting knocked out seemed to snap Conkeldurr out of that Snivy's spell." Langer pointed out. At that moment, three men dressed similar to Langer and wearing orange construction helmets arrived on the scene.

"You okay boss?" one of the men asked Langer. "We heard all the noise out on the edge of the forest and got worried."

"We're fine, but our new friends had to get a little rough with some of our Gurdurr." Langer explained. "You guys better get them to the Pokemon Center."

"No problem boss." The worker replied. "You just take care of that Snivy."

With the four fallen Gurdurr being tended to, Ash and the others continued on into the forest. After a few more minutes of walking, they came to a small clearing with a tree stump in the center. Lounging on the stump on its side was the very Snivy they had been looking for.

"Hey Snivy!" Ash called, getting the Grass Pokemon's attention. "I don't know how or why you've been causing all this trouble, but it ends now! Let's get her Pikachu!"

Pikachu jumped forward and stood ready to face Snivy in battle. Snivy yawned and got to her feet, a confident smirk was on the grass lizard's face. Before Ash could issue a command, Snivy winked at Pikachu, and from the eye she winked came a heart made of glittering pink energy. The heart flew over and hit Pikachu in the face, and suddenly Pikachu had a goofy smile on his face, similar to the expressions worn by Conkeldurr and the four Gurdurr.

"That Snivy knows Attract!" Chili realized.

"What's Attract?" Langer asked.

"Basically a Pokemon that uses Attract causes Pokemon that are of the opposite gender to fall in love with it." Chili explained.

"Mr. Langer, your Conkeldurr and all the Pokemon helping you with the construction are all guys, aren't they?" Misty inquired.

"Well now that you mention it, they are." Langer confirmed. "So wait, you're saying that this Snivy put some kind of love spell on our Pokemon, and that's why they've been helping her?"

"Pretty much." Chili confirmed.

Meanwhile, Snivy suddenly glowed with a faint pink aura and soon the area was filled with a pink mist. A powerfully sweet aroma began to waft through the air. The infatuated Pikachu suddenly became more relaxed.

"Now she's using Sweet Scent!" Ash observed.

Two green vines quickly extended from Snivy's shoulders and began whipping Pikachu relentlessly. Pikachu of course did not at all try to fight back or dodge the attack. In fact the electric rodent looked as if he was in a state of bliss, causing Ash and the others to look on with shocked open mouthed expressions.

"Pikachu looks like he's enjoying that way too much." Chili observed.

"This is so wrong." Misty commented.

Ash seemed to become incapable of speaking as he watched Pikachu get pummeled. Lucario meanwhile suddenly gritted its teeth at the site. It suddenly jumped in and grabbed Snivy's vine whips and used them to swing Snivy into a tree. Lucario then got in front of the still spellbound Pikachu. After bringing its paws together and growling as if it was begging Pikachu to forgive it for what it was about to do, Lucario swiftly punch Pikachu in the face, snapping the electric rodent from the spell that Snivy had put on him.

"Pik?" a confused Pikachu asked Lucario after coming back to his senses.

Meanwhile, Snivy had gotten back to her feet and glared at Lucario. Lucario then moved to face Snivy and took a fighting stance.

"Hey Ash, isn't your Lucario a male too?" Chili asked.

"Yeah, and I don't think Lucario battling Snivy is such a good idea." Ash replied.

"You could try using Ho-Oh." Misty suggested. "It wouldn't be effected be Snivy's Attract."

"Yeah, but I want to catch Snivy, not burn her to a crisp." Ash pointed out.

Suddenly a Pokeball on Ash belt opened and Larvesta emerged, appearing in front of Lucario. Larvesta looked around and noticed Snivy. The fire larva then began to skitter towards Snivy, causing the grass reptile to take a fighting stance. Larvesta then skittered back a few steps and simply stared at Snivy. After a few moments a smirk returned to Snivy's face. She winked at Larvesta and sent forth another pink energy heart. The heart hit Larvesta in the face, but instead of becoming infatuated Larvesta merely tilted its head at Snivy.

"It looks like Larvesta wasn't effected by Attract." Misty observed.

"But then that would mean…" Ash began to realize. "Larvesta, you're a girl?"

Larvesta simply turned and tilted her head at Ash. Snivy meanwhile seemed to get irritated and launched her whips at Larvesta. Larvesta seemed unharmed by the attack, but it had caused her to turn around and face Snivy. The two Pokemon simply stared at each other for a few minutes. But suddenly Larvesta fired a barrage of fiery bullets from her horns at Snivy, causing her to cry out.

"Whoa, that's one powerful Ember attack!" Chili decaled.

When the attack had ended, the middle tip of Snivy's leafy tail was on fire. Snivy quickly began to scream and flail her arms, as the flame got bigger. She ran around frantically in circles until finally running into a tree and falling over.

"Uh, Pokeball go?" Ash said as he threw an empty Pokeball at Snivy. The ball hit Snivy and sucked her in, then jiggled around on the ground for a few moments before finally making the sound that signaled that the capture was complete. Ash then walked over and picked up the ball. "I'm not sure, but this might be my weirdest Pokemon capture ever."

"No argument here." Misty agreed.

"Well, we should check and see how she's doing. Come on out Snivy!" Ash called as he threw the ball.

Snivy emerged from the Pokeball cradling her singed tail. Chili then set down his bag and pulled out a large fruit that looked like a bluish-purple strawberry and walked over to Snivy.

"Here." Chili said as he kneeled down and offered the fruit to Snivy. "This Rawst Berry should help heal your burn."

After a moment, Snivy hesitantly took the berry from Chili and took a bite out of it. As she ate the berry, the burn on Snivy's tail began to heal. Larvesta skittered over to Snivy as she ate. Snivy noticed Larvesta and simply turned her nose up at the fire larva.

"C'mon Snivy, you started this whole thing." Ash pointed out. "Larvesta was only trying to defend herself. You can't be mad at her for that."

Larvesta nudged Snivy in a friendly manner a couple of times. After a moment, Snivy opened her eyes and extended a vine whip. She used the vine to gently pat Larvesta on the top of her head.

"Okay Snivy, I'd like to know why you've caused all this trouble." Ash said to the grass reptile.

Snivy nudged her head over to a tree with a large hole in the side. Ash and Chili went over to the tree to find inside three creatures that looked like large chipmunks with huge red eyes with yellow irises.

"Those are Patrat." Chili identified. "I didn't there were any Pokemon living in this burned forest. So Snivy was protecting them?"

"Hmm, I wonder…" Ash said to himself. "Hey Lucario, let's find out just what is living here."

Lucario nodded and walked over to Ash. The two of the closed their eye, kneeled down, and put a hand to the ground. Though in Lucario's case it was a paw.

"Hey Misty, what're Ash and Lucario doing?" Chili asked quietly.

"They're trying to sense if there're any other Pokemon living in this forest using Aura." Misty explained.

"Using Aura?' Chili repeated.

"Do you know what an Aura Guardian is?" Misty asked.

"I do." Langer chimed in. "They're people who're said to be able to see and manipulate the energy of living things. But I've only heard about them in stories. I never thought that they actually existed."

"They exist alright, and Ash is one of the only Aura Guardians left." Misty revealed. "Before we came here to Unova, Ash spent two years training to use his powers better."

"Just as I thought," Ash said as both he and Lucario opened their eyes and got back to their feet, "this part of the forest may be burned down, but there are still a lot of Pokemon living here. But that's not the only thing Lucario and I could sense. Look over by that tree over there."

Misty and the others looked over at the side of the tree Ash was pointing to. They were surprised to find several small white flowers growing at the foot of the tree.

"The Pokemon living in this burned forest are helping it come back to life." Ash explained. "That's why Snivy has been doing everything she can to keep it from getting torn down."

"What's going on here?" a familiar voice demanded to know. Ash and the others turned to see that it was Blackwater.

"You can't tear down this forest." Ash told him.

"And just why not?" Blackwater asked.

"Because there are still a lot of Pokemon living here." Ash informed him.

"Well then they'll have to find their homes somewhere else." Blackwater said coldly. "I told you that I intend to build my shopping center no matter what."

"Then you'll have to find a new crew, because my guys and I aren't doing it." Langer told him. "It's one thing to just tear down a dead forest, but we won't have any part in destroying the homes of Pokemon."

"Fine, you and your men are easily replaceable." Blackwater informed him. "But my shopping center is going up, one way or another."

"I wouldn't be so hasty if I were you, Mr. Blackwater." An older voice suddenly spoke. Stepping into the clearing was a short bald old man with a white beard and bushy eyebrows wearing a green suit and yellow tie.

"Mayor Greenleaf, what're you doing here?" Blackwater asked the old man.

"Just taking a stroll Mr. Blackwater." Mayor Greenleaf told him. "And I overheard your entire conversation with this young man and Mr. Langer. I'm afraid it seems that the town council and myself were a little too hasty in allowing you to build your shopping center."

"You can't be serious!" Blackwater said with a look of outrage.

"Hundreds of years ago, the people who founded the town of Evergreen came to this once barren land in the hopes of creating a lush green paradise." Mayor Greenleaf began. "They created that paradise, but they did not do it alone. They did it by living in harmony with the wild Pokemon that came to this land, and through their unity the forest around us thrived. Sadly it seems that we of the town had forgotten about that unity over the years. We forgot that as long as Pokemon live in this forest it will continue to thrive. We had thought this part of the forest lost, which is why we had agreed to let you tear it down. But this young man and this Snivy have reminded us that this area of the forest shall be reborn because of the Pokemon. So that is why, Mr. Blackwater, we can no longer allow you to build here."

"You can't do this to me!" Blackwater shouted.

"You do not own this land Mr. Blackwater." Mayor Greenleaf reminded him. "We had only given you permission to use it. But now that permission has been rescinded, so now you must leave."

"Fine! Keep your damn trees!" Blackwater yelled. "But remember that you've threw away a great opportunity for your town! My shopping center would've put this place on the map, but go ahead you nature-loving idiots! Throw it all away! Just don't expect me to come crawling back!"

With that, Blackwater stormed off into the forest. Mayor Greenleaf then went over to Ash and Snivy.

"I thank you for your help young man." Mayor Greenleaf said to Ash.

"It was no problem Mr. Mayor." Ash assured him. "I'm just glad the Pokemon living here won't lose their homes."

"You needn't worry young man, this forest will exist for generations to come." Mayor Greenleaf told him.

"Well Snivy, you're methods were a little weird, but you save the forest." Ash said to the grass reptile. "You're a real hero, and I'm glad to have you on my team." Snivy gave Ash as satisfied smirk before she continued eating her Rawst Berry.

* * *

A few hours later, Ash and the others had left the town of Evergreen behind them and were back on the road. Once they had left the forest, Chili got out the map he had gotten at the Pokemon Center.

"Well, if I'm reading this map right, if we take this road we'll be in the next town in three days." Chili told the others.

"Then let's get going!" Ash said enthusiastically.

"Ash, before we do that, I need you to do just one little thing for me." A rather pale-looking Misty said to him with a nervous twitch.

"What's that Misty?" Ash asked.

"GET THIS FREAKN' BUG OFF ME!" Misty shouted as she turned to reveal that Larvesta had gotten out of her Pokeball and was clinging to her back.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This ended up being a pretty fun chapter to write. The way Ash got Larvesta's egg from that monk is kind of meant to make fun of how in the Pokemon games you can sometimes get an egg by just speaking to a random person. I wasn't originally going to have Larvesta hatch until a later chapter, but I ended up changing a few things when I did a rethink of some of those later chapters. As for why Ash even ended up with a Larvesta, I wanted him to have a Fire Pokemon aside from Ho-Oh that he could use in gym battles. And since Larvesta is also a Bug Pokemon, I can use Misty's bug phobia for comedic effect.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	5. Raging Pig

**Author's Note:** In a couple of some of the reviews for this story I've gotten questions about Ash's Tepig from the anime. Is it going to appear? Is Ash going to catch it, or is it going to be caught by somebody else? All those questions are going to be answered right now.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 4: Raging Pig

Misty awoke gently to the sound of the running stream she and the others camped out by the previous night. As she became conscious, Misty began to realize that there was something on top of her. Slowly she opened her eyes, and staring at her was a black insect-like face with large blue eyes. It took about ten seconds for Misty to realize just what was looking at her. Misty then screamed and jumped out of her sleeping bag, knocking Larvesta off of her onto the ground. Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Chili all woke up in response to the disturbance.

"Misty, what the hell?" Ash asked in a somewhat irritated tone due to his sleep being disturbed. "Why all this noise so early in the morning?"

"I'll tell you why! I woke up to find that damn bug on top of me!" Misty shouted as she pointed at Larvesta. Larvesta only tilted her head at Misty as if she were clueless of what she had just done.

"Aw dang it! Larvesta I told you not to do that kinda stuff." Ash said to the fire larva. Larvesta merely turned to Ash and tilted her head at him. Ash sighed and got out Larvesta's Pokeball. "Return." A red beam came from the ball and sucked Larvesta inside.

"Well, it looks like it's about time to get up anyway." Chili said as he stood up. "I'll go get breakfast started."

Chili then walked off. Pikachu and Lucario followed him to give Ash and Misty some alone time.

"Misty, I'm sorry about Larvesta." Ash sad as he got up and walked over to her.

"Well, I know it's not like you sent Larvesta out to crawl on me." Misty admitted. "Still, I don't know why she has to bother me all the time."

"Maybe she just likes you." Ash suggested. "It's not surprising, I mean you're the most beautiful and kind person in the world. Who wouldn't like you?" Ash's comment caused Misty to smile a little. "I'll try and do a better job of getting Larvesta to behave, okay?"

"…Okay." Misty said after a moment before turning around and planting a small kiss on Ash's lips. "C'mon, let's go or we'll be late for breakfast."

* * *

Half an hour later, the group had finished easting breakfast and was back out on the road. It had been at least three days since the incident in Evergreen Town that had led to Ash capturing Snivy. And at long last they had finally reached the next town on the road to Nacrene City, the little town of Coalville. It was a fairly large town with buildings of iron-grey that had smoky black roofs. The roads of the town were paved with red brick rather than concrete.

As they headed for the town square they suddenly noticed several people running from something that seemed to be in the direction that the group was headed. It did not take Ash and the others long to see what the people were running from. Emerging from around the corner they were headed for was a small orange pig-like creature. The end of its snout was red and on the top of its snout was a wide yellow stripe. The top of the pig's head was back, including its ears, which were close together on the top like the ears of a bow. Its rear end, except for its hind legs, was black, and it had a black spring-like tail with a red ball on the end.

"It's a Tepig!" Chili informed the others. Ash quickly got out his Pokedex to find out more about the Pokemon.

"Tepig, the Fire Pig Pokemon." The Pokedex identified in its mechanical voice. "Tepig attacks by breathing powerful flames through its nose. If black smoke comes out instead, it is a sign that this Pokemon has a cold."

"Tepig is one of the three Pokemon given out to new trainers here in Unova." Chili added.

"It doesn't look like it's in a good mood." Misty observed, noticing the angry expression on its face.

Tepig quickly noticed Ash and the others and suddenly glared at Lucario. Lucario noticed Tepig glaring at him right away. The fire pig then gritted its teeth and swiping the ground with its right front leg. Tepig then began charging at Lucario full speed, and as it did its body became completely shrouded in flames.

"It's using Flame Charge!" Chili told Ash and Misty.

"Quick Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded.

Lucario brought his paws together and fired a ball of blue light at Tepig as it charged closer. The attack hit the front of the flame that had formed around Tepig, creating an explosion. When the smoke cleared Tepig was still standing, glaring at Lucario and bearing its teeth. Lucario responded by taking a fighting stance.

"Hey!" a gruff voice called from behind Ash and the others.

The group turned to see running up from behind an older man with iron-grey hair and a long grey beard. He was a large and rather husky man with muscular arms, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and tan pants. Tepig ran off at top speed upon seeing the bearded man.

"Hey! Come back here!" the bearded man called after Tepig, but he sighed after realizing that it was no use. "Damn! Got away again."

"Excuse me sir." Ash said to the bearded man. "Was that your Tepig that just attacked us?"

"What? Oh, no I'm afraid it was not. Though I would be greatly ashamed if it was, due to its behavior." The bearded man answered. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Demetrius. And that Tepig you just saw is quite wild, though it did have a trainer once."

"What do you mean?" Chili asked.

"It's a sad story, and I'm afraid an old one." Demetrius began. "A few months ago we had a young trainer pass through here with that very Tepig. I do not know all the details, but apparently the Tepig lost a battle to a Pokemon it had a type advantage against. Because of that lose, its trainer thought Tepig to be weak and abandoned it, tying it to a tree in the town square. And it was there Tepig remained for many weeks."

"And nobody in this town did anything to help it?" Ash asked with a noticeable amount of anger in his voice.

"No, and your anger young man is very much understood, and perhaps even deserving." Demetrius continued. "Many of the townspeople simply didn't help because they didn't think it was any of their business. Others, like myself, hoped that Tepig's trainer would have a change of heart and come back for him. Though I suppose that is a weak excuse for our inaction. What was worse was that every day a group of our town's young children, who simply did not know any better, would come every day to abuse and make fun of the poor Tepig. Its anger began to build, and before long it broke free of its bonds and began rampaging through our town. Since then Tepig has remained near here, coming back every now and then to create havoc."

"Hasn't anyone tried to stop it?" Chili asked.

"Of few of us have, but I'm afraid we haven't had much luck." Demetrius answered gravely. "Mainly because it's so powerful. Come, I want to show all of you something."

A few moments later, Demetrius led Ash and the others to a large old and seemingly abandoned factory-looking building. In the side of the wall on the left side of the building was a large hole that was about ten feet tall and ten feet wide.

"That little Pokemon did this?" Misty asked with a look of surprise.

"That is right, with its Flame Charge attack." Demetrius confirmed. "In its anger, Tepig has grown quite powerful. It seems that one of the reasons for Tepig's rampages is to prove its strength."

"That's why it attacked Lucario." Ash realized. "Tepig wanted to prove itself by beating a strong Pokemon."

"Such fiery intensity." Chili commented, still looking at the hole in the wall with awe. "Mr. Demetrius, do you know where Tepig has been hiding out?"

"Hmm… well, a few of our townspeople have said they've sighted Tepig in a small meadow on the edge of town." Demetrius answered. "Why do you ask?"

"This Tepig has such a flaming spirit, such burning hot power. There's no way I can pass up a chance like this. If that Tepig is wild, then I'm going to catch it!" Chili declared as he made a dramatic pose with his fists.

"You intend to capture Tepig?" Demetrius said with surprise. "I admire your boldness young man, but even if you did somehow capture it, are you certain you could control it?"

"You don't need to worry about that." Chili assured him. "I happen to be one of the Striation City gym leaders."

"You're a gym leader you say?" Demetrius said, looking somewhat amazed. "I certainly did not expect this. Very well, the meadow where Tepig is said to be is just south of this building not too far away. I wish you luck young man."

A few moments later, Ash and the others were headed for the meadow that Demetrius had told them about. The three had remained silent for much of the trip.

"Ash, you okay?" Misty asked in an attempt to break the silence.

"Yeah, this who thing with Tepig just has me a little ticked off." Ash answered. "I hate it when trainers abandon their Pokemon because they think they're weak."

"As sad as it is, Mr. Demetrius was right when he said that this is an old story." Chili chimed in. "Some Fire Pokemon can be really hard to raise, especially Tepig. There are some trainers who just don't have the patience to train them, so they just give up. And a lot of times those Pokemon get abandoned like Tepig."

"I had a Charmander once who was abandoned by his original trainer." Ash revealed. "The guy was a real jerk. He said that taking the time to properly raise a Pokemon was the most boring part of being a trainer. As far as I'm concerned, people like that aren't real Pokemon Trainers at all."

"Wow, you had a Charmander?" Chili asked sounding impressed. "What happened to it?"

"It evolved into Charizard after awhile." Ash answered. "Then when I was traveling through Johto originally we passed by the Charific Valley and Charizard wanted to stay there to become stronger."

"Plus it fell in love with a girl Charizard there." Misty reminded him.

"Yeah, that too." Ash chuckled.

Within a few minutes the group had finally arrived at the meadow that Demetrius had pointed them towards. Ash and Lucario both closed their eyes and kneeled down, placing a hand and a paw to the ground.

"Well, Tepig is here." Ash said as he and Lucario got back up. "In fact it's pretty close."

"How do we get Tepig to come out?" Misty asked.

"I'm sure Tepig will find out that we're here pretty soon." Ash guessed. "And when it does it'll probably want to challenge Lucario again."

"And when it does, I'll step in to battle and capture it." Chili declared.

"Right, so all we have to do now is wait." Ash agreed.

They did not have to wait for very long. For in moments Tepig emerged from out of a nearby bush. As soon as it saw Lucario it glared and gritted its teeth. Ash and the others quickly noticed Tepig's arrival.

"Not so fast Tepig, I'm going to be your opponent! Go Pansear!" Chili called. Peansear emerged from the thrown ball and stood ready to face Tepig. Tepig swept the ground with its right front leg and charged at Pansear, its body became shrouded in flames as it did. "Quick Pansear, counter with Fire Punch!"

Seconds before Tepig would've rammed into Pansear, Pansear swung its flame-covered fist at the fire pig. The two attacks hit each other, creating a pillar of flames that shot into the sky. Tepig's attack forced Pansear back a ways, causing the fire monkey's feet to drag into the ground. But Pansear had not been knocked down. After a few moments the flames finally cleared.

"Now Pansear, use Low Kick!" Chili commanded.

Pansear hit Tepig from below with a powerful kick, knocking the fire pig into the air. Tepig however had managed to land on its feet and recover. It then began to shoot fiery bullets from its nose.

"Use Dig!" Chili ordered.

Just as Tepig's attack was about to hit, Pansear quickly burrowed under the ground. Moments later as Tepig looked around for where Pansear might emerge, the fire monkey burst forth right beneath Tepig and hit it with a punch.

"Now finish it with Flamethrower!" Chili ordered. Before Tepig hit the ground, Pansear breathed out a stream of flames at the fire pig. Tepig fell to the ground once the attack had ended. "Pokeball go!"

Chili's thrown Pokeball hit Tepig on the forehead and sucked it in. The group waited breathlessly and watched as the Pokeball jiggled on the ground. There seemed to be a strong chance that Tepig would break free. But after what seemed like an eternity, the ball finally stopped moving and made the noise that signaled that the capture was complete.

"Yes!" Chili cheered as he went over and picked up the ball. "I caught Tepig!"

"Yeah, but that was probably the easy." Ash noted. "Now you have to get Tepig to trust you."

"You're right, it probably doesn't trust humans much since it was abandoned." Chili agreed. "No time to start like the present though. Come on out Tepig!"

Tepig emerged from the thrown ball catching it breath. Chili then kneeled down and pulled a chocolate bar from his pants pocket. He then unwrapped the end of the bar and held it out to Tepig.

"Here, this Ragecandybar will help you get better." Chili said to Tepig. "Go on, take it."

Tepig just stood and looked at Chili for quite a while. But slowly and hesitantly it began to approach. Eventually Tepig came up and sniffed the candy bar a few times before finally taking a bite out of it.

"There you go." Chili said to Tepig as it ate. "You know, you're a pretty strong Pokemon. I can't believe that you were abandoned like that. But I promise you that that'll never happen with me. I just know that you and I will make a great team."

Before long, Tepig had finished eating the candy bar. It then looked over and glared at Lucario.

"It looks like Tepig still wants to challenge Lucario." Ash noted.

"You wanna fight Lucario Tepig?" Chili asked the fire Pig. Tepig nodded, not once taking its eyes off Lucario. "What do you say Ash? You and Lucario care to take on me and Tepig?"

"Why not? Let's do this Lucario!" Ash commanded. Lucario nodded, and in moments both Lucario and Tepig stood ready to face each other.

"Okay Tepig, let's start with Flame Charge!" Chili commanded.

Tepig gritted its teeth and swept the ground with its right front leg. It then ran at Lucario at full speed as its body once again became shrouded in flames. Suddenly Tepig jumped into the air and rammed into Lucario. The jackal Pokemon crossed his arms together to try and withstand the attack. The sheer force of the impact caused Lucario to be forced back a bit, his feet digging into the ground.

"Use Close Combat!" Ash commanded.

Lucario opened his eyes wide and forced Tepig back off of him, causing the flames to fade. Before Tepig could hit the ground he began to pummel the fire pig with several fast and powerful punches. After a few moments the attack had finally ended and Tepig hit the ground. Lucario stood breathing heavily as he watched Tepig slowly rise back to its feet.

"Don't give up Tepig!" Chili called. "Use Ember!"

Tepig began to fire several flaming bullets from its snout. Lucario crossed his arms to withstand the attack, though it was clear that he was taking damage.

"Okay Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded. Lucario brought his paws together and fired a ball of blue light. The attack hit Tepig and blew him into the air. "Now finish it with Bullet Punch!"

Before Tepig could hit the ground, Lucario leapt up and hit Tepig in the stomach with a glowing white paw. Tepig then hit the ground and was knocked out. Chili quickly went over to the fallen fire pig. Tepig regained consciousness after a moment and looked up weakly at Chili.

"You did really good out there." Chili assured him. Tepig gave Chili a sad look. "Hey, don't feel bad. There's no shame in losing to opponents like Ash and Lucario. Besides, you gave them a really good fight. See for yourself."

Tepig looked over and saw that Lucario was still catching his breath a little. Lucario looked back and gave Tepig a smirk.

"I know that you want to be as strong as you can." Chili said to Tepig. "That's what I want too. And I know we can both get stronger of we work together. So what do you say Tepig, will you travel with me?" After a moment Tepig smiled and nodded at Chili.

"I think we should get these guys to a Pokemon Center before we head out." Ash suggested.

"That sounds good to me." Chili agreed. "We've all got a long journey ahead of us."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Going into this story I had decided from the beginning that Chili was going to catch Tepig instead of Ash. That was one of the big reasons why I chose him over Cilan and Cress as Ash and Misty's traveling companion (other than the fact that I really don't like Cilan). I decided to make Tepig a little different from how it is in the anime and give it a little bit of an attitude problem. The backstory ended up being pretty much the same though. It kind of annoys me that three of the four Fire-type Starter Pokemon Ash has caught all have pretty much the same backstory. But I decided to keep the backstory as is since Tepig was going to be caught by a different trainer anyway.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	6. Toxic Terrors

**Author's Note:** I had a lot of difficulty writing this chapter. And it didn't help that I've been having a rough week this week. I even considered cutting this chapter and moving on, but I liked the idea too much to do that. Anyway, one of the things I did while planing this story was look at the episode guides for the Black and White anime and decide what episodes to cut and what episodes to base chapters on. One of the things I based my decisions on was what Pokemon was featured in the episode and go from there. There was an episode in the anime where Ash and his friends ran across some rebellious kids that befriended a wild Trubbish. This chapter is based a tiny bit on that episode, but its gone through so many changes that it hardly resembles the original episode.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 5: Toxic Terrors

Almost four days had passed since Ash and his friends were in the town of Coalville where Chili had captured Tepig. It had been a relatively uneventful few days, and at last they were nearing the last stop on the way to Nacrene City, the quaint little town of Clear Water Lake. As the group neared the little town, Ash and the others had noticed an unpleasant stench wafting through the air. None of them could tell just what the stench was or where it was coming from, but they could tell that it was getting stronger the closer they got to the town. Before long they had reached the summit of the last hill before the town, and were stopped when a sudden breeze magnified the horrid odor.

"Man, that is rank!" Ash declared as he and the others held their noses. "Where the hell is this stink coming from?"

"Maybe we're near a garbage dump." Misty theorized.

"Aw Man! It smells like the sweat of gym shorts squeezed into a glass of milk that's been fermenting under a radiator for five months and then mixed with rotten eggs and poured onto a compost heap that's been out in the hot sun!" Chili exclaimed.

"Did you have to describe it like that?" Misty asked as she turned a little green.

"Look, we're almost to the town." Ash pointed out. "So let's just keep going and hope whatever that stink is dies down."

The travelers pressed on, trying their best to ignore the stench that had been plaguing them. As they went down the hill they could see the town of Clear Water Lake in the distance. It was a small lakeside town filled with tan houses and buildings with sky-blue roofs. Before long the group had reached a large sign right in front of the town with the town's name on it. But when they read it they saw that part of the sign had been spray-painted over so that the word "Clear" read as "Crud" instead.

"Why would someone do that to the sign?" Misty wondered as they walked past.

"I don't know, but that stink is getting worse." Ash replied.

Soon the travelers had entered the town. But the further they went in the worse the foul stench got. Before long they could hardly take anymore and stopped. It became clear that the two seemed to be the epicenter of the stench.

"I can hardly breath!" Chili exclaimed as he covered his face to try and block the scent.

"That's it! Time for some drastic action! Go Snivy!" Ash called as he threw out a Pokeball. The grass lizard emerged from her ball and immediately held her nose upon smelling the foul air of the town. "Quick Snivy! Use Sweet Scent!"

Snivy glowed briefly with a pink aura, and soon a cloud of pink smoke filled the area. Ash and the others all relaxed and took in the aroma of the mist. Snivy stood looking quite pleased at the job she had done.

"Oh yeah, that's much better!" Chili declared.

"Yeah, this is heaven." Misty agreed. Suddenly she glanced and noticed something coming out from between two of the houses on the left side of the street. "Hey guys, what's that?"

The rest of the group looked and noticed the creature Misty was seeing. And it soon became clear that it was not alone. All around them suddenly were about twenty creatures that stood about two feet tall and looked like dark-greed garbage bags with big eyes and mouths, each with a row of fangs protruding from the top. The bag-looking bodies were tied at the top and had small feet. On the sides of each creature it looked as it the bags had torn and the garbage pouring out of them had formed into arms or tentacles. Ash quickly got out his Pokedex to see just what was surrounding them.

"Trubbish, the Trash Bag Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "These Pokemon were formed when garbage bags interacted with industrial chemical waste. They prefer to congregate in unsanitary and polluted areas."

"I guess Snivy's Sweet Scent attracted all these Trubbish here." Chili assumed.

"They don't look very friendly." Misty observed, noting the angry looks they all had.

Suddenly all of the Trubbish opened their mouths and spat out globs of dark-purple sludge at the group. In an instant, Ash raised his right arm forward and a barrier of blue light formed around them and blocked the toxic barrage.

"Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt!" Ash commanded after the barrier dropped.

"Pik… a… CHUUUUU!" the electric rodent cried as he shot out bolts of yellow lightning at the Trubbish. The toxic Pokemon cried out as they were electrocuted. When the attack ended they all ran off to where they came from.

"Well, that scared them off." Ash observed.

"Yeah, but now that bad smell is back." Misty noted.

"Maybe Snivy could use Sweet Scent again and make it go away." Chili suggested.

"Then all those Trubbish would come back and attack us again!" Misty pointed out.

Suddenly Ash felt something hit him in the back of the head. He turned to look down and saw that it was a crumpled-up soda can.

"Hey! You dummy!" a young voice called. Ash and the others quickly noticed that it was a boy who looked to be about seven or eight with light-brown hair and dark-brown eyes wearing a red t-shirt and black shorts. "What the heck did you think you were doin' with that Pokemon attack of yours? You brought out all those Trubbish!"

"Well excuse me, but I didn't know that there were so many of those Pokemon living around here!" Ash told him. "And another thing, throwing a can at the back of someone's head isn't a very good way to get their attention."

"You deserve it for bringing those Trubbish here!" the boy angrily retorted. "Everyone knows that Crud Water Lake is full of Trubbish. Everyone with a brain that is!"

"Now look here you little…!" Ash began shoot back, but Misty held up her hand to cut him off.

"Are you the one who spray-painted the sign outside of town?" Misty asked the boy.

"Who cares if I am?" the boy replied. "That's what this town should be called!"

"Kyle! What are you doing?" an older voice called.

Everyone looked to see a man with hair the same color as the boy's but was slightly longer. He wore a short-sleeved unbuttoned shirt over a white wife-beater and tan shorts with sandals. Holding his hand was girl who looked to be about five or six with black hair with pigtails wearing a simple light-pink dress. A somewhat frightened expression was on the girl's face.

"These idiots did something that made all the Trubbish come out!" Kyle told him.

"That's no excuse for causing trouble." The man scolded. "Now apologize to them this instant!"

"…Sorry." Kyle said grudgingly after a moment.

"I apologize too." The man said to Ash and the others. "I'm sure my son didn't mean to cause you any trouble."

"It's no problem." Misty assured him. Though Ash stood with his arms crossed grumbling something under his breath. Kyle saw this and responded by sticking his tongue out at him.

"My name is Peter Marsh." The man said, introducing himself. "You've already met my son, Kyle. And the girl holding my hand here is my daughter, Tammy. I'm guessing that the three of you are Pokemon Trainers."

"Yeah, we're passing through here in the way to Nacrene City." Ash confirmed. "I'm Ash by the way, and these are my friends, Misty and Chili. It looks like your town has a little Trubbish problem."

"Yes, and it's been getting worse." Mr. Marsh said gravely. "I'm afraid if something isn't done soon this town might have to be abandoned."

"Why are all these Trubbish here?" Misty asked.

"Follow me, I'll show you." Mr. Marsh replied.

Minutes later Mr. Marsh had led Ash and the others to the lake that had given the town its name. The water of the lake was very dark, brown, and very murky. Ash and the others quickly realized that the lake was the source of the horrid stench that hung over the town.

"How can anyone breath next to this stink?" Ash wondered.

"Believe it or not, you actually get use to this smell over time." Mr. Marsh told him. "But the lake wasn't always like this. Once it was very clear and full of life. People and Pokemon from all around were drawn to this lake."

"So what happened?" Misty asked.

"About five years ago this lake started to become polluted." Mr. Marsh began. "No one has been able to find the reason why. Though there are rumors that companies have been dumping their chemical waste into the lake. But no one's been able to prove that."

"But this lake is what's been bringing the Trubbish here." Chili realized.

"Yes, as you probably already know, Trubbish thrive in highly polluted areas." Mr. Marsh continued. "When the pollution began four years ago we started seeing two or three Trubbish around the town. Then as time went on and the pollution got worse and worse, we started seeing even more Trubbish. For a while they were tolerable, but recently their population has gotten out of control. And lately they've gotten a lot more aggressive."

"Tammy and I were out here a few days ago when a couple of Trubbish suddenly attacked us." Kyle added. "We were luck we got away without getting hurt."

"Hasn't anyone in this town tried doing anything about all this, like clean up the lake?" Ash asked.

"Why would they? Nobody here cares about how bad this lake has gotten." Kyle said bitterly.

"As harsh as my son's words are, I'm afraid he's right." Mr. Marsh said gravely. "Our Mayor, Merton Grimes, hasn't lifted a finger to clean up the lake. He keeps saying that he'll look into the matter, but he hasn't done one thing about it. And as for the rest of the people of this town, most of them are just willing to sit back and wait for Mayor Grimes is actually going to do something, like it isn't even they're problem. Others have just given up and moved away. And now with the Trubbish outbreak the way it is, it looks like this town might be finished."

* * *

Not far away near another part of the lake, a short fat bald man with a grey mustache wearing a lime-green suit and yellow tie was waiting impatiently by a cluster of trees. He checked his watch for what was probably the tenth time that afternoon. The odor of the lake was becoming more unbearable with each minute.

"Mayor Merton Grimes I assume?" a male voice said to the bald man. The bald man turned to see a man in a white suit standing under one of the trees. The shadows of the tree made it impossible to see his face.

"It's about time you got here!" Mayor Grimes said impatiently. "You have any idea how long I've been waiting for you by this sewer? Of all this places to meet, you had to pick here?"

"We're terribly sorry for the inconvenience Mr. Mayor," a woman's voice said from further in the shadow of the tree, making it impossible to see her face, "but we've found that for secret meeting like this it's best to meet in places that nobody likes to go to."

"You have a point there I guess." Mayor Grimes admitted.

"Now then, why have you asked for our services?" the man in white asked.

"Alright, I'll get to the point." Mayor Grimes began. "This town has a Trubbish problem that's been getting worse and worse. My office keeps getting complaints. There's an election coming up soon, and if something isn't done quickly I'll be out of office."

"I see, so you want us to get rid of the Trubbish." The mystery woman deduced.

"Yes, and I want it done as quickly as possible." Mayor Grimes confirmed. "I'm willing to pay any price." Suddenly a Trubbish emerged from behind another tree and noticed the mayor.

"This seems like as good an opportunity as ever to demonstrate our skills." The man in white said as he pulled a Pokeball from his pocket. "Go Weezing!"

Emerging from the man in white's thrown ball was a large floating grayish-purple ball with several bumps on it and a large face without a nose. Just below the face was a white circle and X that resembled a skull and crossbones symbol. Attached to the left side of this creature was a smaller almost identical creature that was smaller in size and only had a white circle under its face.

"Now then Weezing, use Flamethrower!" the man in white commanded. From its large mouth Weezing belched out a stream of putrid green flames that hit the Trubbish in the face and knocked it onto its back. "Now, go Pokeball!"

The thrown ball hit Trubbish and sucked it inside. They all watched as the ball jiggled on the ground, but it soon stopped moving and made the sound that signaled that the capture was complete. Weezing hovered down and picked the ball up with its mouth. It then floated over and delivered the ball to the man in white.

"Marvelous capture darling." The mystery woman told the man in white.

"Thank you dear." The man in white replied before turning back to Mayor Grimes. "So Mr. Mayor, was that a satisfying demonstration?"

"Yes, very much so." Mayor Grimes replied. "I don't think I need to see anymore. Now get these Trubbish out of the town by the end of the day and I'll pay you whatever you want."

"Consider it done sir." The mystery woman told him.

* * *

Meanwhile about half an hour later, Ash and the others had gone back with Mr. Marsh to his house. It was a quaint little cottage not too far away from the lake with white walls and a red roof. Though the paint on the sides of the house had begun to peel. Out behind the back of the house was a large fenced enclosure. The group at that moment was in the small kitchen of the house with Mr. Marsh talking and having beverages.

"So this place is a Pokemon Daycare?" Chili asked Mr. Marsh.

"Yes, my late wife and I started it up when we moved here a year before Kyle was born." Mr. Marsh explained. "Running her place like this was her dream. She would be sad to see it the way it is now. We started doing less and less business when the lake started going bad. Now this place is just a house for my family and I, and if things keep going the way they have been it may not even be that before long."

"You're really thinking of moving?" Ash asked.

"I've already packed a few bags." Mr. Marsh admitted. "The fact is this lake is no longer a good place to raise a family." At that moment, Kyle came running into the kitchen with a panicked expression on his face.

"Dad! I can't find Tammy!" Kyle informed them. "I think she went to the lake again!"

"We have to go get her!" Mr. Marsh said as he got up form his chair. "The lake is far too dangerous! It's where most of the Trubbish live!"

"Then let's go get her!" Ash declared.

As quickly as they could, Ash and the others returned to the lake. But when they got there they found no sign of Tammy. They decided to split up to look for her, with Chili, Mr. Marsh, and Kyle taking one side of the lake while Ash and Misty took the other. As Ash and Misty traveled the edge of the lake with Pikachu and Lucario, they eventually found Tammy looking out sadly over the murky water. They ran over as quickly as they could to Tammy and stopped only a couple feet away from her.

"Hey there Tammy." Misty greeted as she walked over while Ash and his two Pokemon. "You know you're dad doesn't want you out by the lake."

"I know…" Tammy replied sadly. "I just miss coming out here. Before the lake got sick my brother and I used to come out here all the time to play. There used to be a lot of nice Water Pokemon in the lake. But now the only thing around here are mean Trubbish."

"Do you like Water Pokemon?" Misty asked.

"Uh-huh." Tammy replied.

"I really like Water Pokemon too." Misty said with a smile. She then pulled out a Pokeball from her belt. "Here, I'd like you to meet someone. Go Oshawott!"

"Osha!" Oshawott cried with a cute smile as it emerged from its ball.

"Oh wow!" Tammy said with a wide-eyed expression.

"Oshawott, this is Tammy." Misty introduced. Oshawott quickly went over and held out its arm for Tammy to shake.

"It's so cute!" Tammy giggled as she shook Oshawott's paw. Suddenly a Trubbish emerged from behind a nearby shrub, causing Tammy to scream and hide behind Misty.

"Quick Oshawott, use Razor Shell!" Misty commanded.

Oshawott detached the seashell from its chest and held it in its right paw. A blade of water extended from the shell, turning it into a kind of sword. The otter Pokemon then leapt forward and slashed the Trubbish in the face, knocking it onto its back. Soon after, more Trubbish emerged from the surrounding bushes and trees.

"This isn't good." Ash observed.

Suddenly from behind another tree came a much larger creature that stood about six feet tall. It looked as though the trash bag body of a Trubbish had exploded from the bottom and formed into a new body made from a body of trash. The ears of the bag had also ruptured and the trash had formed into balls that resembled mouse ears. It had tentacle-like arms made of trash and flexible rusted pipe. On the end of the right arm, which was coming out of what could be considered its hip, were three pipe-like fingers. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out more about the creature.

"Garbodor, the Trash Heap Pokemon and the evolved form of Trubbish." The Pokedex identified. "By consuming different kinds of garbage, Garbodor can create new poisonous gases and liquids inside its body."

"Lucario, let's do it!" Ash commanded.

"Hold it Ash!" Misty interrupted, stopping Lucario in his tracks. "I'll handle this one."

"You sure Misty?" Ash asked.

"Don't worry, I'll end this quick." Misty assured him as she took out another Pokeball. "Go Suicune!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a creature that looked like a cross between a wolf and a leopard. Its eyes were red and it had no visible nose. The creature's snout and underside was white, while the rest of its body was blue with large white diamond-shaped spots in various places. It had two tails like long white streamers that curved around towards the front of its body, and on its back was a sort of purple cape that resembled an aurora. On the beast's forehead was a large blue diamond-shaped crest.

"It's so pretty." Tammy said with a look of awe. Oshawott looked at Suicune with very wide eyes and its jaw hung open in amazement.

"Suicune, use Ice Fang!" Misty commanded.

An icy mist began to pour from Suicune's mouth as it charged at Garbodor. Garbodor raised its tentacles in the air, and between them formed a large mass of black garbage that glowed with a toxic purple aura. The trash creature threw the mass of garbage at Suicune, but the beast of water quickly jumped out of the way. With unbelievable speed Suicune came at Garbodor from the right and bit down on its neck, causing a patch of ice to form. Then with a twist of its neck, Suicune threw Garbodor into the air.

"Now use Aurora Beam!" Misty commanded.

Before Garbodor hit the ground, Suicune fired a beam of multicolored light from its mouth and hit Garbodor in its rear. Garbodor hit the ground and then got to its feet and ran off as quickly as it could. All of the Trubbish quickly ran after it in fear. Suicune then turned around and looked at Misty. Then it looked at Tammy and Oshawott and then went over to the lake. Suicune looked down at the murky water of the lake and its eyes narrowed.

The beast of water suddenly raised its head and let out an ear-splitting roar. In an instant a wave of blinding light washed over the lake, and when it cleared the water in the lake was crystal clear. Chili, Mr. Marsh, and Kyle arrived not long after the phenomenon.

"What… just happened?" Mr. Marsh asked as he looked at the lake in amazement.

"Suicune happened." Ash explained. "I forgot that Suicune has the power to clean up filthy water." Tammy meanwhile went over and stood next to Suicune.

"Did you make the lake all better?" Tammy asked Suicune. Suicune turned to Tammy and nodded.

"I'm sure that all the Water Pokemon that used to live in this lake will come back now." Misty said to Tammy.

"Yay! Thank you!" Tammy said to Suicune joyfully as she hugged the beast of water.

* * *

Word of Suicune's purification of the lake spread through the town like wildfire. And with the lake no longer polluted the Trubbish fled like rats leaving a sinking ship. Hours after the incident Ash and his friends were outside the Marsh house getting ready to leave.

"Are you sure we can't convince any of you to stay the night?" Mr. Marsh asked them.

"Thanks for the offer, but we kinda want to get to Nacrene City by the day after tomorrow."

"Well then please accept this gift as thanks." Mr. Marsh offered. Kyle then came out of the house carrying a case containing a red Pokemon egg with yellow vertical stripes down the side. "A few days ago a trainer passing through town left two of his Pokemon here for awhile. They produced an egg, but this trainer didn't want it. So I'm sure it'll do well with one of you."

"I'll take the egg." Chili spoke up. Kyle handed Chili the case.

"I wish you luck on your journey." Mr. Marsh said to the group. "And thank you for giving this town a second chance."

"It's no problem, and thanks." Ash assured him, and with that the travelers set back out on the road.

* * *

Later that night at Clear Water Lake City Hall, Mayor Grimes was entering his office. When he tried to turn on the lights he found that the switch wasn't working.

"Good evening Mr. Mayor." A voice from the darkness greeted. From the dim light of the moon through the office window, Mayor Grimes could tell that it was the man in white, though it was still impossible to see his face. "Working late I see."

"Oh it's you. What do you want?" Mayor Grimes demanded.

"I think that should be obvious." The voice of the mystery woman from before said as she stepped a little into the dim light. Though Mayor Grimes could not see her face, he could tell that she was wearing a black suit. "We've come for our payment."

"Hah! Forget it, I don't have to pay you scoundrels a dime!" Mayor Grimes told them. "You didn't do squat to get rid of our little Trubbish outbreak. Some foreign Pokemon Trainers not only got rid of the Trubbish but the cleaned up the lake too. And they did it for free."

"True, but we still have a little fee for hiring us." The mystery woman told him. "Our time isn't cheap. Even though we didn't complete the job you gave us, we still went to the trouble of coming out here. We needed to be compensated for that time."

"And just how much is your fee?" Mayor Grimes asked.

"Oh, about three-thousand dollars." The man in white told him.

"WHAT? That's outrageous! I won't pay!" Mayor Grimes insisted.

"That's a real shame Mr. Mayor." Another female voice from the darkness told him. This third voice sounded a bit older than that of the mystery woman, and Mayor Grimes could tell that she was sitting at his desk. "It would've been a lot easier on you if you had just cooperated."

"Wait, there are three of you?" Mayor Grimes asked. "I thought there were only two."

"Actually there are four of us." The elder mystery woman revealed. "We're sort of a small family operation. Anyway, I strongly suggest that you pay us our fee Mr. Mayor. Otherwise the press is going too get their hands on proof that you've been taking bribes from companies to allow them to dump their chemical waste in the lake, causing the very Trubbish outbreak that you called us in to clean up."

"You're bluffing! You couldn't possibly have any proof!" Mayor Grimes scoffed.

"You sure about that?" the elder mystery woman said as she held up a digital phone and showed the mayor a video of him taking a bribe. Mayor Grimes broke out in a cold sweat upon seeing the video. "Now, pay us what you owe and I'll just delete this nasty little video, and all the other evidence we have."

"Fine." Mayor Grimes said grudgingly as he went over to a safe in the wall. Within moments he opened the safe and threw out a few wads of cash at the fee of the man in white. "There, three-thousand dollars! Now delete that video this instant!"

"Okay, let me just find the right button, and…" the elder mystery woman said as she began to fiddle with the phone. "Oops, I accidentally sent all the proof we had to the press. I just can't seem to work these darn digital phones. Another consequence of me wandering the mountains on an impossible task and leaving my precious daughter to fend for herself, I guess."

"You did that on purpose you bitch!" Mayor Grimes shouted.

"So what if my mother did?" the younger mystery woman replied. "In any case it doesn't matter. You have much bigger problems now."

"What do you mean?" Mayor Grimes asked.

"We did a little research on you Mr. Mayor." The man in white revealed. "It turns out that your real name is Melvin Grim, and a few years ago you embezzled quite a lot of money from the bank you ran in Nimbasa City."

"Because of that, there's a fairly large bounty on your head." The elder mystery woman told him. "One that's way too big for us to pass up. Who knew that catching criminals could be so much more profitable than stealing Pokemon?"

"Y-you'll never take me in!" Mayor Grimes declared in a frightened tone

"Oh, I wouldn't be too sure of that my dear fellow." A deep and refined male voice said from the darkness of the office. "It would be far easier on you if you didn't try to run, but then it would be far more fun for me if you did."

Just then, Mayor Grimes thought he heard something jump on top of his desk. He then saw a pair of cat-like eyes glistening in the darkness. Outside of the building a scream could be heard echoing though the night.

* * *

Several minutes later, the mystery group was aboard a black blimp that was flying through the sky away from Clear Water Lake. The man in white had just joined the others in the cockpit.

"Well, our former mayor is safely tucked away in the hold." The man in white informed them. "Another job well done I suppose. Though we could've made more money if we had actually gotten rid of the Trubbish."

"True old boy, but there was an unexpected bonus that came out of all this." The deep voice pointed out. "We now know that the twerps are here in Unova as well."

"That's right. It seems you three now have the chance to get even with the ones responsible for your downfall." The elder mystery woman noted.

"I'm not sure if we're ready to face them again though." The younger mystery woman admitted.

"You will be my dear." The elder mystery woman assured her. "We'll go ahead and turn Grimes in at Nimbasa City, and then we'll set a trap for your little friends."

"And then we'll finally get even with them!" the man in white said enthusiastically.

"This trip is turning out purrfectly." The deep voice declared.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone asks, the egg that Chili got is not Scraggy. Anyway, I'm not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out. I feel it was a little weak in places. Still, I liked the idea of this chapter way too much to cut it. After I read a little more about Trubbish and Garbodor, it seemed to me that toxic Pokemon like that would come into conflict with a legendary Pokemon like Suicune, and that's kinda what I wanted to do in this chapter. I also did a lot of foreshadowing in this chapter. I think I made it fairly easy to guess who the mystery people that Grimes hired are. But that's for much later in this story.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	7. Misty vs Bianca

**Author's Note:** This was a fun chapter for me to write. I was able to do a good deal of comedy in this one. And it was relatively short, which was kind of refreshing. A lot of the stuff I've been writing lately has been a little long, so it was real nice doing a simple chapter for a change. Anyway, in this little episode a small accident, a huge misunderstanding, and a lot of insane jealousy leads to a very unexpected rivalry.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 6: Misty vs. Bianca

After several days of traveling, Ash and the others were finally getting close to Nacrene City. Only a few more hours of walking and they would be in the city by the afternoon. The previous night the group had camped out by a stream that was running along the path to the city. The morning had come and Ash was busy packing up his things. With is bag in order Ash went with Pikachu and Lucario to where Chili was already standing in the middle of the path.

"Ready to go?" Chili asked.

"Yep, just gotta wait for Misty." Ash replied.

"Oh yeah, where is she?" Chili wondered.

"She uh… had to use the bush." Ash explained delicately.

"Oh…" Chili replied. "Well, I guess we'll have to wait a little longer."

"WAIT!" a female voice suddenly called from a distance.

Ash and Chili turned around to see barreling down the path behind them a girl who was running so fast that she seemed to be leaving a dust trail. The girl looked to be about sixteen and had blond hair that ended above her shoulders. She wore a white and orange dress with a long white skirt, and orange stockings with yellow shoes. Slung over her shoulder was a large light-green purse, and atop her head was a light-green beret with a thin white stripe around the middle.

"Wait up, wait up, wait up, WAIT UP!" the girl quickly and repeatedly called as she came at them like a runaway train.

Suddenly the girl tripped over a pebble and began tumbling at them. In a matter of seconds the girl tumbled into Ash, knocking Pikachu off Ash's shoulder and pinning Ash to the ground. When it was over, the girl was on top of Ash, their faces only inches away from each other. The girl began to blush a little as she looked into Ash's eyes. At that moment, Misty returned from the forest.

When Misty saw the girl and Ash in their rather awkward and somewhat suggestive position, an expression of murderous rage came to her face. With her fists balled in anger at her sides, Misty stormed over and kicked girl off of Ash, sending her five feet away into the stream. She then forcefully grabbed Ash by the collar of his shirt and pulled him to his feet.

"Ow! That hurt!" the girl cried as she attempted to get to her feet in the stream.

"Who the hell are you?" Misty angrily demanded as she put her hands on her hips.

"Well that's a nice way to greet someone." The girl said sarcastically as she walked out of the stream and rung the water out of her hat. "But since you asked, my name is Bianca. Um, one of you three is Ash Ketchum, right?"

"I'm Ash." Ash replied as he raised his hand.

"Oh good! Professor Juniper sent me to look for you." Bianca explained as she went up to Ash and pulled an item out of her bag. "She forgot to give you your badge case when you were at her lab." Bianca then held out a small flat blue box with a light-blue stripe and a triangular symbol near the far edge of the lid.

"Oh awesome. Thanks." Ash said as he took the case and placed his Trio Badge inside. He then put the case in his inner vest pocket.

"So Bianca, are you like Professor Juniper's lab assistant?" Chili asked.

"I only help the Professor out sometimes. I'm actually a Pokemon Trainer like you guys." Bianca revealed. "Though I've only just recently started out on my journey."

"Aren't you a little old to be just starting out as a Pokemon Trainer?" Misty pointed out. "I mean you're like what, sixteen?"

"You know Misty, the punk Trip…" Ash began to cut in.

"Shut up!" Misty yelled at Ash.

"Okay." Ash quickly said with a terrified expression on his face. Pikachu and Lucario flinched back as well.

"Well, my daddy wouldn't let me start a journey when I was ten." Bianca admitted with an embarrassed expression as she pushed her two index fingers together. "He said it was too dangerous for me. But he finally gave me permission to go last month."

"Oh great, a daddy's girl." Misty said sarcastically with crossed arms.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" Bianca asked angrily. "You don't think I have what it takes to be a trainer, do you? Well I'll show you! I'll prove how strong I am with a battle, how 'bout that?"

"Fine by me!" Misty agreed.

"Uh Misty, maybe we…" Ash began to suggest.

"Stay out of this!" Misty shouted at him, causing Pikachu and Lucario to flinch again.

"Okay." Ash quickly replied.

"Wow, that flaming anger looks way too hot to handle." Chili whispered to Ash.

"Chili, do you know what it's like to face a thousand angry Gyarados at once?" Ash whispered back.

"Uh, no?" Chili replied.

"Well it's nowhere near as bad as facing Misty when she's this mad." Ash told him.

"Hey, Chili!" Misty angrily called, causing Chili to flinch. "Come over here and judge our battle!"

"Uh, okay." Chili replied with a somewhat terrified expression as he went over while Misty and Bianca took their positions.

"Bianca, how many Pokemon do you have?" Misty asked.

"Two." Bianca answered.

"Okay, then we'll do this two-on-two." Misty decided.

"Fine by me." Bianca agreed.

"You hear that Chili?" Misty asked almost shouting, causing Chili to flinch again.

"Two-on-two, okay." Chili understood. "Uh, let the battle… begin!"

"Go Minccino!" Bianca called as she threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the thrown ball was a somewhat large fury grey chinchilla-like creature with large dark-brown eyes and very large ears on the sides of its head. Its ears were dark-pink on the inside and had white tips on the top. The rodent also had a long bushy tail with a white tip. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out more about the Pokemon.

"Minccino, the Chinchilla Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Minccino prefer everything to be neat and tidy and often clean things using their tails."

"Wow, that's a pretty cute Pokemon." Ash commented.

"You really think so?" Bianca asked him. "I caught it because I have a thing for cute Pokemon." Misty began to grind her teeth in rage. Suddenly a Pokeball on her belt opened.

"Osha!" Oshawott cried with a smile as it emerged from the ball.

"You wanna battle Oshawott?" Misty asked the sea otter Pokemon.

"Osha!" Oshawott replied with an eager smile and a nod.

"Well you're a lot more reliable than the Psyduck I left back home." Misty admitted. "Okay Oshawott, use Water Gun on Minccino!" Oshawott sprayed out a powerful stream of water from its mouth, hitting Minccino in the chest and knocking it back a bit.

"Minccino, use Attract!" Bianca commanded.

As soon as Oshawott's attack ended, Minccino winked at the sea otter and took a suave pose. From its wink it had fired a pink energy heart that hit Oshawott in the face. After the attack hit though, Oshawott merely gave Minccino an odd look.

"Hey, why didn't that work?" Bianca asked with a confused look.

"Bianca, is your Minccino male?" Misty asked.

"Well yeah, but I don't see what that has to do with anything." Bianca answered.

"Attract only works on Pokemon that are a different gender from the one using it." Misty informed her. "Oshawott's a male too, and that's why Attract didn't work on it."

"Really? Hmm… well I guess that makes sense." Bianca replied as she held her chin in thought.

"Oh god, she's more air headed than that Hoenn Region tramp." Misty said to herself with a groan. "Oshawott, use Razor Shell!"

Oshawott detached the seashell from its chest and held it in its right paw. A blade of water extended around the shell, turning it into a sword. Oshawott then charged at Minccino and slashed him across the chest with the blade.

"Minccino, use Hyper Voice!" Bianca commanded. As soon as Minccino recovered, he opened his mouth and let out a powerful earsplitting blast of sound that knocked Oshawott to the ground. "Now use Double Slap!"

Just as Oshawott had gotten back to his feet Minccino charged forward and began repeatedly slapping his cheeks. The attack went on relentlessly for several moments and with one last powerful slap the chinchilla Pokemon knocked Oshawott into the side of a large rock next to the path. Oshawott managed to recover though and got to his feet again.

"Let's finish this Oshawott!" Misty declared. "Use Aqua Jet!"

Oshawott put his seashell back onto his chest and suddenly his entire body became shrouded in water. He suddenly took off into the air, leaving a trail of water behind him. Oshawott then rammed into Minccino with incredible force. The chinchilla Pokemon fell to the ground out cold.

"Minccino is unable to battle!" Chili declared. "The first battle goes to Misty and Oshawott!" Oshawott stood with a confident pose.

"Fine then, go Pignite!" Bianca called as she threw out another Pokeball.

Emerging from the thrown ball was a three-foot tall bipedal pig creature that looked similar to Tepig. A large section of its torso was black and it had gold ornaments on its chest, making it look as though it was wearing a wrestling singlet. The ends of its hoofed arms were black and it had gold stripes on its wrists, giving the creature the appearance that it was wearing gloves. On the tip of its spring-like tail was a large black tuft of fur. Ash got out his Pokedex again to learn more about the Pokemon.

"Pignite, the Fire Pig Pokemon, and the evolved form of Tepig." The Pokedex announced. "the more this Pokemon eats, the stronger the fire in its stomach becomes, making it even more powerful."

"Wow, awesome!" Chili commented.

"Okay Pignite, use Heat Crash!" Bianca commanded.

Pignite suddenly jumped up high in the air, much higher than most might expect considering its weight. As it rose in the air, Pignite's body became covered by gigantic red ball of flames. The ball of fire began to plummet back towards the earth towards Oshawott. A terrified Oshawott frantically tried to run out of the way, but ended up being crushed by the fireball, which hit the ground with such force that it created a crater. The fire faded and Pignite got out of the crater, leaving an unconscious Oshawott on the ground.

"Oshawott is unable to battle!" Chili declared. "Victory goes to Bianca and Pignite!"

"Hah! I'm not so bad after all, huh?" Bianca said with a confident smirk as Pignite flexed its muscular bulk in victory. Misty called Oshawott back to his ball with an exasperated sigh.

"Alright. Enough playing around." Misty said as she pulled out another Pokeball. "Go Corsola!"

Emerging from Misty's Pokeball was a round and somewhat rock-like creature that was pink on its top half and white on its bottom. On its back were four branch-like horns that resembled coral, along with one short horn on its forehead. It also had two stubby arms and four stubby legs on its underside.

"Wow, I've never seen that Pokemon before." Bianca said as she got out her own Pokedex.

"Corsola, the Coral Pokemon." the Pokedex identified in a mechanical female voice. "Corsola prefer to live in unpolluted southern waters. Their shed horns are sometimes used to make jewelry."

"At least she's not using Suicune." Ash commented. Pikachu and Lucario agreed with a sigh

"Use Bubble Beam!" Misty commanded back in the battle. Corsola fired a barrage of bubbles from its mouth that exploded as they hit Pignite.

"Okay Pignite, fight back with Flamethrower!" Bianca commanded.

"Use Mirror Coat!" Misty ordered.

Pignite shot a powerful stream of flames from its nose at Corsola. Just as Corsola was about to be hit, its body began to glow with an orange aura. The flames suddenly bounced back and hit Pignite like a wave.

"Okay, now use Recover!" Misty commanded. Corsola's body glowed with a white light. Once the light had faded, all the damage it had received from Pignite's flame attack, however minimal, was healed. "Now use Ancient Power!"

A ball of white light formed between Corsola's horns. In moments the ball of light was fired like a cannonball into Pignite's chest, knocking the pig wrestler to the ground. Pignite tried to get up, but fell to it back unconscious.

"Pignite is unable to battle!" Chili declared. "Victory goes to Misty and Corsola!"

"Darn! I came so close." Bianca said with a look of disappointment as she called Pignite back to its ball.

"Hey, don't feel too bad. You did pretty well." Chili assured Bianca as Misty called back Corsola. "Didn't she Misty?"

"Yeah, whatever." Misty said with crossed arms as she looked away from Bianca with an angry expression.

"Chili's right, did pretty good." Ash chimed in. "And there's no shame losing to a strong trainer like Misty. Her family runs the Cerulean City Gym in Kanto." Ash's comment caused Misty's expression to soften a bit.

"Oh wow, really?" Bianca said looking impressed. "Well, I guess I'll just have to train harder for next time then. Well, I'll be going now. I have another gym to get to."

"Okay, I hope we'll run into each other again." Ash replied.

"Same here. Bye!" Bianca said before taking off down the road like a rocket, though she seemed to be heading in the opposite direction of Nacrene City.

"Well Misty, looks like you might have a new rival." Ash observed.

"Whatever." Misty said with indifference as she headed off towards the city. "Let's just get going."

"Man, what is her problem?" Chili wondered.

"No idea." Ash said as he scratched his head in confusion. "I haven't seen her like this since we traveled through Hoenn about three years ago. Couldn't figure out what was ticking her off then either. I'm sure she'll calm down in awhile though."

"Well, we should get going then." Chili suggested. Ash nodded and the two followed after Misty with Pikachu and Lucario.

* * *

**Author's Note:** One thing that I got to do in this chapter was show just which Pokemon are currently on Misty's team aside from Oshawott. The rest were seen in the previous chapters. I assure all of you though that Misty will capture more Pokemon later in this story. Anyway, Bianca is one of the few recurring characters from the Black and White anime that I actually like, and I really wanted to use her in this story. And I have some big plans for Bianca much later on. One more thing I feel I should mention is that even though the Ash in this story is a bit more mature from the version we see in the anime, he's still fairly clueless at times when it comes to girls.

In the next chapter we get a lot closer to the second gym. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	8. The Cursed Mask

**Author's Note:** Even though it's Thanksgiving, I still have a little time to add another chapter to this story. We're very close to second Unova gym battle. But in the original anime there was one little event that took place before Ash's attempt to defeat Lenora. Today's installment is based heavily on that episode, but with some very obvious changes. So don't expect this chapter to end quite the same way. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a couple of fun references to some classic episodes of the anime in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Cursed Mask

The afternoon following their encounter with Bianca, Ash and the others had finally arrived In Nacrene City. They had found themselves in the warehouse district upon entering the city, and the warehouses were quite a sight to behold. Each one had at least one very large and decorative mural coving an entire wall. Many of the murals were stunning depictions of Pokemon. Misty had ended up spending a good amount of time admiring a beautiful mural depicting a Milotic in the middle of a lake.

"These buildings are all so beautiful." Misty commented. "There must be a lot of artists living in this city to have painted all of them."

"Nacrene City is known as a center of art and culture here in Unova." Chili explained.

"This center of art and culture does have a gym though, right?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, from what I've heard it's inside the city's museum." Chili confirmed.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the gym you and your brothers run is inside a fancy restaurant." Ash commented with a small chuckle. "Well, let's head over there."

After a few more minutes of walking through the city, the group arrived at a large brown and very ornate-looking two-story building surrounded by a brick wall. A sign on the wall next to the open gate indicated that they had found the museum. After going through the gate to head for the large wooden doors, both Ash and Lucario suddenly stopped walking.

"Is something wrong Ash?" Misty asked after both she and Chili had noticed that the two had stopped.

"Not sure…" Ash told her as he gave the building a suspicious eye. Lucario gave the building a sort of low growl. "It's probably nothing. Let's go." The group came to the large wooden doors of the museum to find a sign on them saying that it was closed.

"That's weird, it's still the middle of the afternoon. You'd think this place would still be open." Chili noted. He then noticed a large poster next to the door. "Hey, this poster says they have some big exhibit opening today."

"If that's true, why would they be closed?" Misty wondered.

Suddenly the large doors of the museum burst open, and out ran a scrawny-looking man screaming and flailing his arms in fight. He had dark-brown hair and wore glasses, a grey suit with a lime-green shirt. Upon running out of the museum past Ash and the others, the man tripped and fell down the steps.

"You okay Mr.?" Ash asked the man as he and his friends ran down to check on him.

"You have to help me!" the man begged with a frightened expression as he tried to get back to his feet. "A Dome Fossil we have on display here was just chasing me!"

"Come again?" Chili asked with a raised eyebrow. Ash and Misty looked back at the open door and saw nothing.

"Sir, there's nothing there." Misty told the man.

"What? But that's impossible!" the man exclaimed as he looked back at the open door himself. "That fossil was flying at me just seconds ago!"

"Just who are you anyway?" Ash asked.

"Oh, excuse me. I'm Hawes, the vice curator of the museum." The man explained. "And you have to believe me when I tell you that I was being chased by a fossil."

"Why don't we check it out?" Ash suggested. "Maybe you could show us this fossil that was after you."

"Fair enough." Hawes agreed. "Please follow me."

Hawes led the group inside the museum down a dark hallway until they reached a large open room with the lights out. Hawes reached in and flipped the light switch next to the door. With the lights on, the room was revealed to have glass cases and pedestals with various rocks and fossils. On display in the center of the room was six-foot tall skeleton that resembled a western dragon. Hawes looked around the room and was shocked when he laid eyes on a pedestal with a fossil of a shellfish-like creature with a smooth shell that had large dimples in its rear half.

"Impossible! This was the fossil that was just chasing me!" Hawes told the group as he went over to the pedestal.

"Mr. Hawes, maybe you should explain to us just what's going on." Ash suggested.

Moments later the group had gone across the street with Hawes to a small table across the street. It was several minutes before Hawes seemed ready to explain what was going on at the museum.

"It all started last night when the staff and I were finishing the installation of our new exhibit." Hawes began. "I had decided to stay behind to make sure everything was ready for the opening. As I was finishing the final check, the lights suddenly went out. I tried to get to the light switch, but as I did I heard the sound of footsteps coming towards me. I started to get pretty frightened at that point, as I was the only one supposed to be in the museum. Then I started to hear the sound of someone crying. That's when I asked if anyone was there, and as soon as I did I was chased by this purple fireball and ran out of the museum. When I came back this morning everything was normal. But after what happened I decided that it would be too dangerous to the public to open the museum, so I decided to postpone the opening until I can figure out what's going on."

"I hate to bring this up, but I'm guessing the gym is closed too." Ash assumed.

"Oh, I should've realized that one of you came to challenge the gym since you're all Pokemon Trainers." Hawes replied. "But yes, I'm afraid that even if the museum was open, a gym battle would be out of the question since Dear is out of town on a business trip."

"Dear?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, my wife Lenora." Hawes explained. "She's the curator of the museum as well as the gym leader. But as I said, she's out of town at the moment."

"Well that's not important right now." Ash replied. "Right now we should focus solving your little problem. I'm Ash, by the way. And with me is my girlfriend, Misty, and our friend, Chili."

"It's nice to meet you all." Hawes told them. "Do you really think you can help?"

"We can try." Misty answered. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for what's going on."

"Yeah, and I think I know what it is." Chili agreed with a smirk. "Some thief is using elaborate tricks to scare everyone away so he can steal all the valuable treasures of the museum."

"You really think so?" Hawes asked.

"We don't know anything for sure at this point." Ash reminded them all. "Mr. Hawes, maybe you should give us a tour of the museum so we can maybe find some clues."

"Sounds like as good an idea as any." Hawes agreed.

In moments the group was back in the museum in the room with the fossils. Hawes then walked back over to the pedestal with the Dome Fossil.

"Why don't I start with this Dome Fossil here?" Hawes suggested. "This is the fossil of Kabuto, a Pokemon that lived on beaches and in the ocean about three hundred million years ago."

"There are also some Kabuto that are alive today." Misty cut in.

"Well, it actually is true that some Pokemon Trainers have a Kabuto that's been revived from a Dome Fossil such as this one." Hawes said with a small laugh. "But I'm afraid that this Pokemon is more or less extinct."

"No, you can still find a bunch of them in the wild." Misty told him. "Ask about it if you're ever in the Orange Islands in Kanto."

"The Orange Islands?" Hawes repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey Mr. Hawes, this is a Dragonite skeleton, isn't it?" Ash asked, indicating the dragon skeleton, which he was standing in front of.

"Why yes, I'm actually surprised that you recognized it." Hawes confirmed as he walked over to Ash and the skeleton. "Of course this skeleton is only a replica. But since you bring this skeleton up, you might be interested to know that there have been recent discoveries of Dragonite fossils almost as tall as fifty feet."

"You don't say." Ash replied. "Hey Misty, it looks like you were right about what that giant Pokemon we saw at Bill's lighthouse a few years ago was."

"Hah! You know what this means Ash." Misty said with a triumphant smirk. "You owe me an ice cream cone."

"I'll get you one when we're done here then." Ash said with a small laugh.

"What the heck are you guys talking about?" Chili asked as he scratched his head in confusion.

"Um, perhaps we should move on to the next exhibit." Hawes suggested.

"Fine by me." Ash agreed. Hawes then began to lead the group to the next room. Misty hung back a moment to take one last look at the Dome Fossil.

"Hey Mr. Hawes, if you don't want that Dome Fossil coming to life and crawling around the museum, keep it away from the light of a red moon." Misty suggested.

"Uh, if you say so." Hawes said with a raised eyebrow and a slight shudder.

Hawes led the group through a short wide hallway with a suit of armor by the left sidewall into another large room containing a large platform with sand and sand colored rocks and crumbling pillars. On some of the rocks in the display were pieces of ancient pottery, and in the center was what looked like a gold Egyptian sarcophagus.

"You have a mummy on display here?" Chili asked looking a little impressed.

"Actually no, the sarcophagus you're seeing is a replica of the body of a Cofagrigus, a Pokemon that's said to live in ancient ruins." Hawes explained. "Anyway, what you're seeing now is the exhibit that was meant to open today. It contains artifacts that were recently excavated from some newly discovered ruins."

Ash turned with Pikachu still on his shoulder and noticed that Lucario had walked away and was staring into a large glass case. The case contained more pieces of ancient pottery, but when Ash walked over he saw that Lucario was staring at a golden mask.

"Something wrong buddy?" Ash asked Lucario. Lucario responded by snarling at the mask. "Hey Mr. Hawes, what can you tell us about this mask?"

"Huh? Oh, that's a replica of the mask held by the Pokemon, Yamask." Hawes explained as he and the others walked over. "Yamask is another Pokemon that's said to appear in ancient ruins. You can find out more about it by scanning the plaque under the display with your Pokedex."

Ash looked and noticed the small white plaque that Hawes was talking about. Next to the text on the plaque was a small black digital barcode. Ash took out his Pokedex and pointed it at the plaque. In seconds the picture of a Pokemon appeared on the screen. It was a shadowy looking creature that was mainly black in color. On the front of its head was something that slightly resembled a nose, and on top was a small almost pointed bump. Around the creature's small black eyes were large red circles with almost tear-shaped bumps near the bottom, making it look as though the creature was crying. At each side of its head were almost tendril-like arms with, each with three fingers that curved in. Hanging beneath the creature was a hook-like tail that allowed the creature to carry the same sort of golden mask that was in the display case.

"Yamask, the Spirit Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "It is believed by many that these Pokemon are the spirits of people interred in ancient tombs thousands of years ago, and that each retains the memories of the life it had when it was human. It is also believed that the mask each Yamask carries is of the face it had when it was alive. At times Yamask will look at its mask and cry."

"That's kind of a creepy Pokemon." Chili commented.

"Yes, well, perhaps we should move on with our tour." Hawes suggested after clearing his throat.

The group began following Hawes out of the room, though Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario stopped a moment and looked at the mask in the case. They quickly caught up with the others as the tour continued. Eventually the group was led into a large library with rows upon rows of bookshelves.

"This is the last stop on our tour, our master library." Hawes announced. "We let the guests who come here to the museum do their own research on the artifacts we have on display. Now, have any of you been able to figure out what's behind the haunting?"

"I didn't find anything weird." Chili answered.

"Same here." Misty replied. "Ash, did you find anything odd?"

"Maybe…" Ash said with an expression of deep thought. "But I think there's only one way to find out for sure. Mr. Hawes, if it's okay with you we'd like to spend the night here in the museum so we can find out what's going on for ourselves."

"Oh, well if you think that's the only way, of course." Hawes agreed. "I must say though, I greatly admire your courage. Especially considering that you're all children."

"Trust me, Misty and I have seen scarier things than a haunted museum." Ash assured him.

"And as for me, I'm certain that this haunting is a hoax by some thief. And by the time we're through here, we'll catch that thief and bring him to justice!" Chili declared as he made a dramatic pose with his fists.

"What makes you think it's a thief?" Misty asked Chili.

"Well what else could it be? I mean it couldn't be an actual ghost." Chili said with a confident laugh.

"Don't be so sure." Ash interrupted. "If I'm right, this isn't the work of a human."

* * *

Hours later the night came, and Ash and the others had set up sleeping bags in the main hallway of the museum. As they were settling in, Chili got out the egg he had received back at Clear Water Lake to check on it. Hawes had also set out a sleeping bag of his own.

"I apologize that I couldn't provide you better sleeping arrangements." Hawes told them. "Are you sure sleeping here in the museum is such a good idea?"

"Don't worry, we're used to sleeping like this." Misty assured him.

"Besides, this way we have a better chance of stopping whatever's going on here." Ash pointed out.

"Don't worry Mr. Hawes, we'll get to the bottom of this." Chili said as he put the egg back into his bag.

"I certainly hope so." Hawes replied. "Well, goodnight."

Several hours later in the dead of the night, Ash shot up in his sleeping bag after being awakened by an odd presence that he felt in his sleep. He looked around in the dark room and saw that both Pikachu and Lucario were already awake. Lucario had narrowed his eyes at the dark hallway before them.

"Hey guys! Wake up!" Ash called to the others, rousing them from their sleep. "Looks like we've got company." Just then an eerie purple mist began filling the room, causing Hawes to jump to his feet in fear.

"What the heck is this?" Misty wondered as the fog started getting thicker.

"It looks like our would be thief is using a fog machine to try and scare us." Chili theorized. Suddenly the group heard the sound of metal footsteps clinking against the tile floor of the museum down the hall before them.

"These are the same footsteps I heard last night!" Hawes told them as the footsteps continued to get closer. Emerging from the darkness was the very suit of armor that was on display out in the hall.

"Hah! Whoever's behind this is using that suit of armor to disguise himself as a ghost!" Chili assumed.

"Let's just find out! Use Quick Attack Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu ran at the suit of armor at top speed on all fours before jumping in the air and vanishing. He reappeared behind the armor and delivered a powerful kick, causing the armor to fall to pieces to the ground. Suddenly the armor pieces glowed with a faint purple aura and reassembled into their original form. The armor continued to walk toward Hawes.

"Okay Chili, how do you explain that?" Misty asked.

"Uh, magnets maybe?" Chili guessed.

"Lucario, use Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded.

Lucario charged at the armor with his paw raised, ready to deliver a glowing white punch. The jackal Pokemon hit the suit of armor in the torso with such force that the pieces scattered everywhere. Suddenly from the torso of the armor flew out a purple fireball that went straight at Hawes. Hawes began to scream and fail his arms as he ran in circles as the fireball chased him.

"Don't worry Mr. Hawes! It's probably just a hologram or something!" Chili tried to assure Hawes as he continued trying to outrun the flame.

"Oh brother." Misty sighed as she pulled out a Pokeball. "Go Oshawott!"

"Osha!" Oshawott cried enthusiastically as he emerged from his ball.

"Oshawott, put out that fireball with Water Gun!" Misty commanded.

Oshawott sprayed out a powerful blast of water from his mouth that managed to hit the fireball and put it out. Hawes stopped running and breathed a sigh of relief. But suddenly the helmet of the suit of armor suddenly began glowing with a purple aura and flew through the air at Hawes. Hawes began to scream and run around in circles flailing his arms as the helmet chased him.

"Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.

Pikachu jumped into the air and flipped around, and as he did his tail glowed with a white light before changing to become like a piece of metal. Pikachu slammed his metal tail into the helmet, knocking it to the ground. As Pikachu landed back on the ground and his tail returned to normal, the eerie fog from before vanished and the group suddenly heard crying coming from down the hall.

"That's the same crying I heard from last night." Hawes told them.

"It's probably just a recording of some kind meant to scare us." Chili theorized.

"Oh give it a rest." Misty told Chili with a somewhat annoyed expression.

"It sounds like its coming from the room with that new display." Ash observed. "Let's go check it out."

In moments the group was back inside the room containing the museum's new exhibit. Hawes turned on the light and they went over to glass case with the mask, which was where the crying sounded strongest. When they got over they saw that tears were streaming down the mask's cheeks from its eyes, making it appear as if it was crying.

"How could the mask be crying?" Hawes asked.

"It's probably… condensation." Chili guessed.

"Chili, do you have any idea how lame that sounds?" Misty asked him.

"Yeah." Chili admitted with a slight look of shame.

Suddenly the mask floated up from its place on the shelf and started banging against the glass door of the case as if it was trying to get out. At that point the group heard heavy footsteps approaching from down the hall. They turned and in moments they saw that the Dragonite skeleton walk into the room.

"But that's impossible!" Hawes declared. "That Dragonite wasn't even alive!"

"Maybe whoever's behind this is moving it with strings." Chili suggested.

"Will you give it up already?" an irritated Ash and Misty said to Chili.

"Right, okay. Go Tepig!" Chili called after throwing out a Pokeball. The fire pig emerged from its ball and stood ready to battle. "Use Flame Charge!"

Tepig swiped his right front leg over the ground and began running at the skeleton at top speed. As it did its body became shrouded in flames. The flaming pig rammed into skeleton, causing it to collapse into a pile of bones.

"I think I should check on the mask." Hawes said as he swiped a card key from his pocket into the lock on the case.

As soon as Hawes opened the case, the mask flew off the shelf through the air at Chili. Chili quickly ducked, exposing Misty. The mask kept going and attached itself to Misty's face.

"Misty, you okay?" a suddenly worried Ash asked.

"You caged my mask." Misty said in a deep voice that was not her own. "You all must be punished!"

Suddenly the bones of the Dragonite skeleton glowed with a purple aura and reassembled themselves. At the same time Misty raised her arms forward and shot several purple fireballs from her hands. Ash quickly raised his right arm forward and from his hand came a barrier of blue light that blocked the fireballs.

"Let her go!" Ash yelled at the spirit controlling the mask.

"You must all be punished!" the possessed Misty said again before launching more fireballs. Ash blocked the attack with another barrier.

"Damit, I said let her go!" Ash shouted as he suddenly charged forward.

In moments, Ash managed to grab onto Misty and started trying to pull off the mask. Meanwhile Chili and Tepig were still dealing with the skeleton.

"Use Flame Charge one more!" Chili commanded. Tepig charged at the skeleton yet again as its body became covered in flames and knocked it to pieces yet again. But just as before the bones reassembled themselves. "Aw man! This is going to take forever!"

Meanwhile Ash was still struggling to pull the mask off of Misty's face. Pikachu, Lucario, and Oshawott were helping to hold Misty in place. At long last Ash managed to pull the mask off of Misty and throw it away. But rather than hitting the floor, the mask suddenly floated up and began hovering in the air.

"Ash, what…?" a confused Misty began to ask.

"Are you okay?" Ash asked her.

"Yeah, I think so." Misty replied. "What just happened?" Ash said nothing and turned to look at the floating mask.

"Alright, enough games!" Ash said to the mask. "You've got your mask back, so show yourself!"

Suddenly the Dragonite skeleton that Chili and Tepig were fighting collapsed back into a pile of bones. At the same time a familiar shadowy creature appeared holding the mask with its tail. Lucario looked up at Yamask and growled.

"I thought so. This Yamask has been behind this whole haunting." Ash deduced. "It's probably been using Psychic to control that suit of armor and skeleton. And that mist we saw before was probably Haze."

"And it was using Will-o-wisp to create those fireballs." Chili realized. "I should've seen it before."

"I understand that you were trying to get your mask back, but possessing my girlfriend was going too far!" Ash told Yamask.

Yamask angrily responded by raising its hands forward and forming a ball of crackling black energy between them. The ghostly Pokemon then threw the ball at Ash and Misty. Ash blocked the ball with another barrier, causing a small explosion.

"If you wanna fight, fine! Go Snivy!" Ash called as he threw out a Pokeball. The grass lizard emerged from her ball with a confident pose. "Let's see if this works! Snivy, use Attract on Yamask!"

Snivy gave Yamask a seductive wink. From her winked eye was fired a pink energy heart that flew up and hit Yamask in the face. A goofy expression appeared on Yamask's ghostly face and he began to look at Snivy and drool.

"Okay Snivy, use Vine Whip!" Ash commanded. Snivy extended the vines from her shoulders and began striking Yamask. Yamask did nothing to resist the attack.

"Yamask looks like he's enjoying that way too much." Misty commented.

"Okay, Pokeball go!" Ash called as he threw out an empty Pokeball.

The ball hit Yamask's golden mask and sucked him in before falling to the ground. The group watched intently as the ball jiggled on the ground. After several tense moments, the ball finally stopped moving and made the sound that meant the capture was complete. Ash then went over and picked up the ball.

"Okay, come on out!" Ash called as he threw the ball again. Yamask emerged from the ball with a calm yet still angry expression. "Sorry about that, but you were asking for a fight. My friends and I didn't have anything to do with stealing your mask." Yamask calmed down a little more but then turned and glared at Hawes. Ash turned to glare at Hawes as well. "You on the other hand have some explaining to do Mr. Hawes!"

"What? Me?" Hawes said looking a bit frightened.

"You said that mask was a replica, but it was obviously the real thing!" Ash told him as he stormed over to Hawes with Yamask, Pikachu, and Lucario. "You put Yamask's mask on display like it was just another artifact! It's because of you that this whole mess happened and Misty was put in danger!"

"But, but I didn't know that the mask was real!" Hawes insisted. "I mean, I had only ordered the Cofagrigus replica for the exhibit, but when I saw the mask I assumed that the place I had order the replica made a small mistake, and so I decided to make the best of it and use the mask in the exhibit."

"You know what happens when you assume things." A female voice suddenly spoke. Ash and the others turned to see standing in the doorway a woman with dark skin and a large mass of puffed out blue hair wearing a pink and red striped headband, a pink apron, and a white short-sleeved shirt and green pants.

"You're back Dear!" Hawes said with relief. "And with great timing too."

"So I'm guessing you're Lenora." Ash deduced.

"That's right, and if you'll calm down for a minute I'm sure I'll this mess sorted out." Lenora said as she entered the room and walked up to Hawes. "Now darling, just how did you find that mask?"

"Well, I found it on the floor as the workers were bringing in the pieces for the exhibit." Hawes explained. "I figured it must've fallen out of one of the crate that had the Cofagrigus replica."

"I think I know what happened." Lenora said with a sigh. "That Yamask must've come in with the artifacts from the ruins and somehow accidentally dropped its mask. When it realized its mask was missing and saw that it was on display, Yamask must've thought you'd stolen it and had gotten angry."

"I see, I guess I should've known better." Hawes said as he turned to Ash and Yamask. "I'm very sorry for this misunderstanding Yamask. And I apologize to you too Ash for what happened."

"I apologize as well on behalf of the museum." Lenora added. "Though I'd like to know who you are young man."

"I'm Ash, and I came here to challenge the Nacrene City Gym." Ash explained, still with an angry look in his eye. "Your husband told me that you were the gym leader here."

"That's right." Lenora confirmed with a smirk. "I accept your challenge. And if you like, we can have our battle right now. The sun has already started to come up outside."

"Bring it on." Ash dared.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So if you didn't catch it before, there were some references to the Orange Island saga episode, _Shell Sock_, and the Indigo League saga episode, _Mystery at the Lighthouse_, during the tour of the museum. They certainly don't make episodes like those in the anime anymore. Anyway, I thought those would be fun little references to stick in this chapter. Anyway, the battle with Lenora is in the next chapter, and I can say now that it's not going to go anything like the anime's version. Oh, and don't expect Ash's Yamask to be as forgiving as his anime counterpart.

Please review and let me know what you think. And happy Thanksgiving.


	9. Museum Showdown

**Author's Note:** This chapter ended up being fairly short, but I kinda thought it would be back during the planning stage. I had thought about merging this chapter with the next one, but then I thought if I did that it's end up being a bit too long. Besides, with all the long chapters already in this story it could use a shorter one.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 8: Museum Showdown

The dawn had already risen outside the Nacrene City Museum, and after a long night of dealing with an irate Yamask Ash was about to have his second Unova gym battle. Not long after Ash had captured the Yamask that was causing all the problems, Lenora and Hawes had led the group back to the museum's library. Upon reaching the far end of the library they came to a metal door next to a palm scanner. Hawes put his hand on the scanner, causing the door to raise open. Inside the room were more rows of shelves containing more books, many of which seemed far older than the ones in the main part of the library.

"This part of the library isn't open to the general public." Hawes explained Hawes explained as they walked inside. "One needs to have special permission to go into this room."

"This room is a special archive containing very valuable books and research papers detailing the entire history of the Unova Region." Lenora added. "Anything a person wants to learn about Unova, whether it's about history or culture, they can learn about it here. So Ash, care to learn something about this region before we get started with our battle?"

"Maybe some other time. I came here for a battle." Ash said in a calm yet somewhat angry tone.

"But that's why we've come here." Lenora revealed. "Only those allowed into the special archives are those who have come to do research and have a gym battle. Knowledge is very important in battles." She then walked over to a section of shelf against the wall and tapped on a certain book. "Might I recommend you read this book right here."

"Hey, is Ash going to have to take some kind of test before the battle?" Misty asked.

"The test for that battle may have already begun." Chili observed. Ash narrowed his eyes and went over to the shelf.

"I'm guessing there's something special about this book." Ash said as he tugged on the book. Suddenly the entire section of shelf rose, revealing an open trap door with a staircase beneath.

"Well done, you've passed your first test." Lenora complimented. "Usually when I give challengers this test and recommend this book, they often pick a book on a subject they're familiar with, or they just pick a short book that they can get through quickly. They often read too much into the test and don't see that I've given them a hint to the shortest way to the battlefield."

"So you were testing Ash." Chili observed.

"That's right." Lenora confirmed. "I wanted to learn just what kind of Trainer Ash is."

"And what did you find out, if you don't mind me asking?" Misty asked.

"That he's disciplined and focused on what he wants." Lenora answered. "But at the moment there seems to be something beneath the surface."

"Let's just get on with this." Ash said calmly yet impatiently. In moments Lenora and Hawes led the group down the stairs, with Misty and Chili following a few steps behind.

"Hey Misty, doesn't Ash seem like he's in a bad mood?" Chili whispered.

"Yeah, I think he's mad because what happened with Yamask put me in danger." Misty whispered back.

"But Ash didn't seem mad at Yamask after he captured him." Chili pointed out. "I mean he seemed mad when they were battling, but afterward…"

"That's because Ash probably sees Yamask as a victim." Misty explained, cutting Chili off. "The ones he's really mad at are probably Mr. Hawes and Lenora."

"But that whole thing was just a misunderstanding." Chili reminded her.

"I know that, and I'm sure Ash does too." Misty replied. "But that doesn't really change what happened. The two things Ash hates the most are seeing me in danger and Pokemon that look like they've been abused. Especially since what happened about two years ago."

"What happened two years ago?" Chili asked.

"…It's not easy to talk about." Misty replied after a moment. "In fact there's some stuff from that time that Ash just won't tell me about."

After a few moments, the group had finally reached the stadium beneath the gym. It was a large arena with green walls and a very high glass ceiling. Ash and Lenora went ahead and took their places on the battlefield. Hawes took position on the side to act as judge while Misty and Chili took a spot behind Ash.

"This will be a two-on-two Pokemon battle!" Hawes announced. "Let the battle begin!"

"Go Lillipup!" Lenora called as she threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from Lenora's thrown ball was a small terrier-like creature with brown fur and a large head and pointed ears. It had no snout and its face was covered in long shaggy fur that was of a light shade of brown than the rest of its coat. On its back was a large dark-purple spot of fur.

"Lucario, get in there." Ash commanded. Lucario nodded and walked onto the battlefield before taking a fighting stance to face Lillipup.

"Use Roar!" Lenora commanded.

Lilllipup let out a powerful roar that was far deeper than one would expect from such a small dog. Lucario had a startled expression on his face as he suddenly turned into red light and went into a Pokeball on Ash's belt. In the next instant Yamask suddenly emerged from its own ball onto the battlefield and looked around with a somewhat confused expression.

"Alright, return Lillipup!" Lenora commanded as she called the terrier Pokemon back to its ball. "Now go, Wacthog!"

Emerging from Lenora's second thrown ball was a creature standing a little over three feet tall that resembled a meerkat. It had large cheeks like a chipmunk and a single pointed teeth sticking out of its mouth. Its fur was mostly reddish-brown, while its cheeks, snout, and the front of its neck were beige. Its hands, feet, and tip of its tail were white and the fur on the end of its tail was puffed out. Near the end of its tail were two bright yellow stripes, and more yellow stripes on its torso that were patterned to look like a safety vest. The creature's eyes were very large and had yellow rings near the irises.

"Now, use Mean Look!" Lenora commanded.

Watchog closed its eyes for a moment and then opened them again. When it did, its eyes were glowing with an unearthly red light. Suddenly six ghostly eyes appeared and surrounded Yamask at all sides. The eyes glowed with a red light and Yamask briefly flashed with a purple aura. Once that happened, the eyes vanished and Watchog's own eyes returned to normal.

"Lenora just used Lillipup's Roar to make Lucario switch with Yamask, and then used Watchog's Mean Look to keep Ash from switching them back." Chili observed on the sidelines looking amazed. "She basically just took control of the whole battle."

"You do know that Normal-type moves don't have any effect on a Ghost Pokemon like Yamask." Ash pointed out.

"Of course, but the beauty of Normal-type Pokemon like Watchog is that they can learn many different kinds of moves." Lenora reminded him. "Watchog, use Shadowball!"

Watchog opened its mouth, and in front of it formed a black ball of crackling energy. It launched the ball at Yamask, but at the last second the spectral Pokemon moved out of the way.

"Use Thunder Bolt!" Lenora commanded.

From its body, Watchog fired bolt of yellow electricity that managed to hit Yamask. When the attack ended, Yamask suddenly cried out with an angry expression and his body began to glow with a white light and change shape, surprising everyone. When the light faded, Yamask had turned into a golded sarcophagus that was over five feet tall. The face on the coffin was similar to the one on Yamask's original mask. Also carved into the lid was an Egyptian-style headdress with blue stripes. Suddenly parts near the top of the coffin slid open, revealing two menacing red eyes and a fanged grin. From the crack between the lid and the base came four shadowy arms. Ash got out his Pokedex to see what Yamask had evolved into.

"Cofagrigus, the Coffin Pokemon and the evolved form of Yamask." The Pokedex identified. "Cofagrigus hide in ancient tombs and pretend to be coffins to lure in grave robbers and turn them into mummies. This Pokemon also likes to eat gold."

"Okay then," Ash said as he put his Pokedex back in his pocket, "Cofagrigus, use Will-o-wisp!"

Cofagrigus brought its four hands together and between them formed a large ball of purple flames. With his right upper arm the coffin Pokemon threw the fireball at Watchog, hitting it in the snout. The meerkat Pokemon quickly covered its burned nose.

"That looks like a bad hit." Misty commented on the sidelines.

"Will-o-wisp can't cause any actual damage, but it can cause some pretty bad burns." Chili pointed out. "And that was not a good place for Watchog to get hit."

"Now, use Psychic!" Ash commanded.

Cofagrigus began to cackle a bit and suddenly Watchog was glowing with a purple aura and lifted into the air by an unseen force. That force propelled Watchog into the left wall of the stadium with such force that it left an impression in the wall.

"Use Psychic again!" Ash commanded. Watchog was then hurled into the right wall of the stadium with the same amount of force. "Now, once more!"

Watchog was pulled back and hovered above the middle of the stadium. The meerkat Pokemon twirled in the air for a moment before suddenly hurling into the ground with enough force to make a crater. Inside the small crater Watchog tried to get back to its feet, but quickly fell back down unconscious. Cofagrigus then began laughing maniacally.

"Wacthog is unable to battle!" Hawes declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Cofagrigus!"

Just as Lenora called Watchog back to its ball, Lucario suddenly emerged from his own ball. Lucario walked back onto the battlefield, snarling and bearing his teeth. Lucario then barked something at Cofagrigus, causing the floating coffin to look down at him. Cofagrigus gave another short maniacal laugh and nodded. Ash then called Cofagrigus back to his ball.

"I guess I should've mentioned before the battle that Lucario doesn't like going inside his Pokeball." Ash said to Lenora. "Now he's in a bad mood."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Come back out Lilipup!" Lenora called. Lillipup emerged back onto the field.

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded. Lucario threw out a ball of blue light that hit Lillipup and propelled it into the air. "Now use Bullet Punch!"

Before Lillipup could hit the ground, Lucario charged forward with incredible speed and hit the terrier Pokemon in its side with a glowing white punch. The force of the punch sent Lillipup into the wall behind Lenora, causing it to leave an impression. Lillipup was out cold when it hit the ground.

"Uh, Lillipup is unable to battle!" Hawes declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Lucario!" Lucario sighed and walked back over to Ash as Lenora called Lillipup back to its ball.

"I have to say, I've never had a gym battle like that before." Lenora said as she walked over to Ash. "Still, a lose is a lose. So as proof of your victory, here's the Basic Badge." Ash put the badge into his badge case before walking over to Misty and Chili with Pikachu and Lucario.

"You okay?" Misty asked Ash with a slight look of concern.

"…Yeah, I'm fine." Ash said after a moment with a reassuring smile. "It just ended up being a long night."

"Why don't we stay in the city today and head for the next gym tomorrow?" Misty suggested.

"Fine with me." Ash agreed. "I could use a break from camping out."

Misty gave Ash a quick hug and then the group began to leave the stadium. As they left though, Lenora looked at Ash with narrowed eyes.

"Dear, is something wrong?" Hawes asked Lenora.

"Before I felt that there was something beneath the surface when Ash passed his first test. And now I think I know what it might be." Lenora answered. "Anger."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I had originally plan for Yamask to evolve later in the story, but I thought the battle would play better if he evolved now. Plus Ash has had a few Pokemon that ended up evolving about as soon as he got them. Anyway, we can see again from this chapter that Ash still has a few issues left over from his encounter with Cyrus and Team Galactic in the last story. Well, two gyms down and six to go. But before our heroes head out to the next city, Ash is going to run into a character who's very important to this story.

So until next time, please review and let me know what you think.


	10. Trainer N

**Author's Note:** I'm actually a little disappointed with myself about how the last chapter turned out. But then I'm often my worst judge at times. Anyway, an important character makes his first appearance in this chapter. And by now of I'm sure few of you reading have guessed who it is. I know one person has (thanks for reviewing, by the way).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 9: Trainer N

_Ash found himself standing alone on a chunk of land in an endless sky covered completely by swirling dark-blue clouds. Floating through this dark sky around him were other chunks of land, almost resembling islands. Some were floating upside down while some were floating at an angle. Many of the islands were barren, like the small piece he was standing on, but others had strange tall kelp-like trees growing out of them. Ash quickly realized just what strange land he was in, for he had been in this place once before. He was back in the Distortion World._

_Suddenly small floating pieces of rock came and formed a path. Ash began walking the path as if his body was moving of its own will. How long he walked down the path of floating stones he could not say. But eventually Ash saw a much larger floating island in the distance, and the path was taking him right to it. As Ash came closer and closer to the island he could make out the figure of a person, and eventually he saw that it was Misty._

_Ash attempted to call out to Misty, but when he opened his mouth no sound came out. He had also noticed something strange about Misty. Her entire form, including her clothes, was completely grey, and she wasn't moving at all. It was as if she was frozen in time. Eventually Ash finally reached the island, and when he did he noticed that his foot had bumped into something. Ash looked down and was horrified to see that his foot had bumped into a pile of bones, and not just any sort of bones. They were the bones of Pokemon, and from the skulls he could tell which five they were. They were the bones of Pikachu, Lucario, and the three Lake Guardians of Sinnoh, Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit._

_Suddenly Ash heard the sound of footsteps, causing him to look up. Out of the shadows came a very familiar man with spiked blue hair and an emotionless expression. Ash recognized the man right away; for it was the man he hated most in any world, the leader of Team Galactic, Cyrus. From his vest Cyrus pulled out a silver pistol that looked like a sort of ray gun and aimed it at Misty. Ash screamed at Cyrus to stop, but once again no sound came out of his mouth. Cyrus pulled the trigger of his weapon at Misty, firing a bolt of blue energy that shattered Misty's body like glass._

* * *

Ash shot up in bed with cold sweat covering his brow. As he caught his breath Ash saw that he was back in his room at the Nacrene City Pokemon Center. The light of the moon was shining through his window. In moments Ash noticed that Pikachu was also awake and standing at the end of his bed with a look of concern. Lucario was also awake and standing in a corner of the room looking at Ash with a similar expression to Pikachu's.

"Damn, it's been days since I had that nightmare. I thought it finally stopped." Ash said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. He turned his attention back to Pikachu and Lucario. "Don't worry guys, I'm fine. But I don't think I'll be getting any more sleep tonight. How 'bout we go outside for a bit?"

In moments Ash was fully dressed in his usual attire and out in front of the Pokemon Center with Pikachu and Lucario. They walked for a few minutes until they had reached a small park near the Pokemon Center that Ash and the others noticed the day before. The park was on a hill overlooking the city. Ash walked over to a fence with his two companions to take in the view.

"Lovely night, isn't it?" a voice commented, causing Ash and his two Pokemon to turn.

Standing behind them was a young man who looked to be around Ash's age with long olive-green hair tied back into a ponytail. He wore a white long sleeved shirt over a black undershirt, along with long grey pants and green sneakers. On his head was a black ball cap with an off-white front, and around his neck was an odd pendant of some kind. Hanging from his belt at his left hip was a sort of black puzzle cube. For a moment Ash felt that he had seen the young man somewhere before, though he could not place where.

"Sorry if I disturbed you." The young man said to Ash. "I didn't expect anyone else to be out here at this time of night."

"It's fine, I didn't expect to be out here either." Ash replied. "I had a little trouble sleeping."

"Oh, sorry to hear that." The young man responded. "My name is N by the way."

"I'm Ash." Ash greeted. "So what're you doing out here at this time of night?"

"Just enjoying the night air." N answered simply. "Many of the Pokemon living in this area come out at this time of the night, so I wanted to see them. I notice that you have a fine pair of Pokemon with you right now."

"These are my friends, Pikachu and Lucario." Ash introduced. "So are you a Pokemon Trainer?"

"You could say that." N replied. "I'm guessing that you're one."

"Yeah, I just beat the leader of the Nacrene City Gym yesterday." Ash confirmed. "Today my friends and I are headed to Castelia City so I challenge the gym there."

"When you say your friends, do you mean your two Pokemon, or are there human traveling companions with you as well?" N inquired.

"Well I am traveling with my girlfriend and friend I met back in Striation City, but Pikachu and Lucario are friends too." Ash said with a slight laugh. "All of my Pokemon are."

"Hmm… they do seem to greatly enjoy being with you." N said as he observed Pikachu and Lucario. "I've actually never seen Pokemon who have such trust in their trainer…. Ash, I'd like you to do me a favor. Normally I don't like having Pokemon battles, but in your case I'd like to make an exception. I'd like to see just how strong a bond you have with your Pokemon, your Pikachu specifically."

"How 'bout it Pikachu, you up for a battle?" Ash asked his electric companion.

"Pika!" Pikachu said enthusiastically as he jumped off Ash's shoulder and stood ready to battle.

"I guess it's on then." Ash said to N.

"Very well." N replied before putting his hands up to the sides of his mouth. "Come to me my little friend!"

Suddenly emerging from a nearby bush and running up to N was a small cat with a large head and striking green eyes. Much of its fur was purple, but its muzzle, the front of its neck, shoulders and hind paws, and a large spot on its back were off-white. The cat also had two small white spots near its eyes, which had two large spots of violet fur above them. On the end of the cat's tail was a tuft of fur that looked like the blade of a scythe. As N kneeled down to pet the feline Pokemon, Ash got out his Pokedex to find out just what Pokemon he was seeing.

"Purrloin, the Devious Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Purrloin likes to steal from people for fun and often uses its cuteness to get off."

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone call their Pokemon out like that before." Ash said to N as he pocketed his Pokedex.

"I don't like putting Pokemon inside Pokeballs." N told him as he stood back up. "Now then, let's start our battle, shall we?"

"Fine by me." Ash agreed. "PIkachu, use Thunder Bolt!"

"Pik… a… CHUUU!" Pikachu cried as he fired a bolt of yellow electricity at Purrloin. Purrloin jumped out of the way of the attack and darted around to Pikachu's left.

"Sand Attack!" N commanded. Purrloin came at Pikachu and kicked up a cloud of sand with its right front paw. The sand got in Pikachu's eyes and clouded his vision. "Now use scratch!"

Purrloin jumped at Pikachu and scratched him across the chest with its claws, causing him to cry out. The force of the attack was strong enough to knock Pikachu back half a foot.

"Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt again!" Ash commanded. Pikachu fired of another bolt of electricity at Purrloin, but the cat Pokemon quickly darted out of the way. "Dang! That Purrloin's fast!"

"Yes, and it hasn't helped that Pikachu's accuracy has been lowered by Purrloin's Sand Attack." N pointed out. "Alright Purrloin, use Scratch again!"

Purrloin charged at Pikachu again from his right and delivered a powerful scratch to his side. Pikachu quickly recovered from the assault and got down all fours. As he glared at Purrloin his tail began to crackle with electrical energy. Suddenly a ball of yellow electricity began to form at the end of Pikachu's tail.

"What the heck's going on?" Ash asked.

"It looks like Pikachu has just learned Electro Ball." N theorized. "It's an electrical attack that does more damaged based on how fast its user is than the opponent."

"Alright then." Ash said with a smirk. "Pikachu, use Electro Ball on Purrloin!"

Pikachu jumped up into the air and flipped around, launching the ball of electricity from his tail like a catapult. The ball of electrical energy hit Purrloin in the face before it could dart out of the way. Purrloin tried to get up but fell back to the ground.

"Well, that's that." Ash said as Pikachu took a victorious pose. "That was a good battle."

"I have to admit, I thought so too." N agreed as he went over to Purrloin. N kneeled down and pulled a small bottle of what looked like medicine out of his pocket as Purrloin got back up. "Here you are my little friend." Purrloin began drinking from the bottle that was offered to it.

"You're a pretty good trainer N." Ash complimented.

"I feel the same about you." N said as he got back to his feet. "The equation of you and Pikachu working together like that produced an answer that I did not expect possible. I never thought I'd meet a trainer and Pokemon who were so close."

"Hey, Pikachu and Lucario are two of my best friends." Ash replied with a smile.

"Of that I have no doubt. And I get the feeling that you care about Pokemon a great deal." N observed. "In a way I think you and I are alike Ash. We both care a lot about these perfect creatures we call Pokemon."

"When you put it that way, I guess we are alike." Ash agreed. He then glanced and noticed that the dawn was approaching. "Hey, looks like the sun's coming up."

"Oh, so it is." N noticed. "In that case I should be going. I hope we meet again Ash."

"Same here." Ash said as he went over to N and shook his hand. N then began walking away with Purrloin, giving Ash a wave as he did so.

* * *

A few hours later, Misty and Chili walked downstairs from their rooms to the main room of the Pokemon Center. As they continued to rub the sleep out of their eyes they saw Ash awaiting them with Pikachu and Lucario.

"About time you guys got up." Ash said with a rather cheerful expression. "I'm ready to hit the road whenever you guys are."

"Ash, how long have you been up?" Misty asked as Chili continued to yawn.

"About three hours I think." Ash replied. "Don't worry, I wasn't bored. Pikachu, Lucario, and I were doing some training out by that park near here."

"…You feeling okay?" Misty asked him.

"Sure I am." Ash assured her. Misty looked at Ash for a moment before walking over to him.

"Well, you do seem to be in a better mood than yesterday." Misty noted before planting a kiss on Ash's cheek. "You're sure you're okay though."

"Well I didn't wake up too good this morning," Ash admitted, "but I'm fine now. I just needed to clear my head for a bit."

"Okay then." Misty replied.

"So now that that's been settled, shall we get going?" Chili asked.

"Fine with me." Misty agreed.

"Next stop, Castelia City." Ash said as the group headed out the door. They walked in silence for a few moments as they headed down the path out of the city.

"So did anything interesting happen during your training this morning?" Misty asked Ash after a moment.

"Well, Pikachu learned a new move." Ash answered. "Plus I made a new friend. His name is N, and I guess he and I are a little bit alike."

* * *

**Author's Note:** The part I enjoyed most about this chapter was that nightmare scene at the beginning. I love writing scenes like that. Plus it made one heck of an opener. Anyway, N is perhaps one of the most unique villains I've ever seen, period. He has the best of intentions, but his methods are pretty screwed up. It's a real shame he's never appeared in the anime. Because he makes a real interesting opponent for Ash.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	11. The Impish Flame

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Impish Flame

It had only been four hours since Ash and the others had departed from Nacrene City. The noonday sun was hanging high in the sky above and the group had decided to stop on a hill next to the nearby stream to have lunch. As they began to set up camp, Chili got out the case containing the Pokemon egg he had gotten back at Clear Water Lake. Chili removed the egg from the case to take a closer look at it, and suddenly the egg began to pulse with a white light. Immediately Chili set the egg down on the ground and took a step back.

"Hey guys! I think my egg's about to hatch!" Chili called to Ash and Misty. The two promptly came over with Pikachu and Lucario and gathered around the egg.

The pulse of the egg began to flash quicker and quicker, and in a flash of white light the egg hatched with a cracking sound. Standing in place of the egg was a small red creature that stood at two feet tall with a round body. Above the creature's round eyes were two large yellow curved eyebrows. Its face was orange and lacked a nose and its mouth was curved into a grin. On its chest were three yellow vertical oval-shaped stripes, and it bore a curved yellow horizontal stripe on its back. The creature had a stubby tail on its rear. Its arms and legs were fairly short and ended with orange paws that each had a set of three digits.

"Awesome! A Darumaka!" Chili said excitedly. Ash got out his Pokedex to get a better look.

"Darumaka, the Zen Charm Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "This Pokemon is very hyperactive as long as its internal flame is burning bright. But when the flame dies down, Darumaka relaxes and falls asleep."

"Huh, a Fire Pokemon." Ash observed as he pocketed his Pokedex. "Looks like you lucked out Chili."

"You bet I lucked out!" Chili enthusiastically agreed. "I've always wanted to have this Pokemon, but I could get a chance to go out and find one because I had to run my family's gym."

Suddenly for no apparent reason, Darumaka began running around the group at high speed. In less than a minute the little Fire Pokemon had run fifteen laps around them before stopping next to Pikachu. Pikachu said hello to Darumaka in its own language, and Darumaka responded by giving Pikachu an enthusiastic pat on the back that accidentally knocked the electric rodent to the ground.

"Wow, Darumaka sure seems like a handful." Misty commented as Pikachu got back to his feet. "I'm actually a little glad that I'm not the one raising it."

"Well, it does take a certain kind of skill to raise a Pokemon like Darumaka." Chili said smugly. "Not that I'd expect a trainer like you to understand."

"What do you mean a trainer like me?" Misty asked with a hint of rage in her voice.

"Well you're a Water Pokemon trainer, right?" Chili replied. "I mean it'd make sense that a Water Pokemon trainer wouldn't know anything about raising a powerful Fire-type like Darumaka." Ash sighed and shook his head at Chili's comment.

"So you're saying that Fire Pokemon trainers are better than Water Pokemon trainers?" Misty asked with crossed arms and an angry glare.

"Uh, no! Of course not!" Chili said with a flinch, realizing the mistake he made all too late.

"Then just were you saying Chili?" Misty asked with a sort of calm rage.

"Well, I uh…" Chili stammered.

"You really stepped in it this time Chili." Ash cut in. "Look, let's just drop this and have lunch. Then we can figure out just what direction we're going, okay?"

"Sounds good to me Ash!" Chili frantically agreed. "Doesn't that sound good to you Misty?"

"…Oh fine." Misty agreed with a sigh after a moment.

"Okay then. Let's let everyone out for lunch." Ash suggested.

Misty and Chili agreed and in moments they threw out all their Pokeballs to call their Pokemon out. Once out, all the Pokemon congregated in their usual groups. Pikachu and Lucario gathered together with Snivy and Larvesta, along with Cofagrigus, who of course was new to the group. Ho-Oh landed and sat down next to them. Suicune walked over to Ho-Oh and bowed its head before sitting down next to the great bird. Just a few feet away, Oshawott gazed at Suicune with awe. Meanwhile Corsola and Politoed were just behind Oshawott talking to each other. And on the other side of the Pokemon camp, Paansear and Tepig were introducing themselves to Darumaka. Darumaka responded by running a few laps around them and giving Pansear a hard but friendly slap on the arm. Though Pansear seemed to take the greeting in good spirit.

Before long, Chili handed out all the bowls of Pokemon food to the menagerie before sitting down and eating with Ash and Misty. Lunch for the Pokemon started out relatively normal for the Pokemon. Larvesta finished the usual six bowls of food that were laid out for her, once again startling Pikachu and the others. She then skittered over to Ho-Oh, made a short squeaking noise, and tilted her head at the great bird. Ho-Oh stopped eating for a moment to gently pick Larvesta with its beak and place her on its back. Larvesta curled up and began to take a nap. Meanwhile Ash, Misty, and Chili had finished eating and got out the map.

"Okay, so if we want to get to Castelia City, we're going to have to pass through Pinwheel Forest." Chili said as he pointed to a spot on the map.

"What's that place like?" Ash asked.

"Well I've never been there myself, but I hear it's huge." Chili replied. "It's sort of like the Viridian Forest in Kanto I guess."

"Does that mean there are a lot of… bugs?" Misty asked with a gulp.

"Hey don't worry Misty. If any Bug Pokemon start bothering us, I can just scare them off with Larvesta." Ash assured her.

"Oh yeah, scaring bugs off with another bug. That makes me feel a lot better." Misty said sarcastically. "Couldn't you just use Ho-Oh?"

"I'd probably burn down the forest." Ash said half jokingly.

"Relax Misty, if any Bug Pokemon cause us trouble, my Pokemon are more than a match for them" Chili chimed in.

"Why? Because they're so much better trained than mine?" Misty asked sounding a little enraged.

"What? No, of course not!" Chili frantically replied. "I never said anything like that."

"Here we go again." Ash sighed to himself.

A bit later, most of the Pokemon had finished eating and had split up somewhat. Pikachu had gone over to talk to Suicune, Corsola, and Politoed, while Lucario went off to sit and meditate for a bit not too far away. Cofagrigus had gone over closer to that path to apparently pose as a coffin, and Pansear and Tepig went with to watch and see if Cofagrigus was going to try and snag some innocent bystander. Snivy, meanwhile, was sitting by herself eating the apple she was having for dessert. As she ate, Snivy did not notice Darumaka quickly but quietly creep up behind her.

Darumaka tapped Snivy on her left shoulder and quickly moved to Snivy's right. Snivy looked over her shoulder, and when she saw there was no one there she went back to eating her apple. Darumaka tapped Snivy again on the right shoulder and quickly moved to her left just as Snivy looked back. Just as Snivy went back to her apple, Darumaka tapped her left shoulder again and quickly moved out of the way, once again causing Snivy to look back and see nothing. At this point Snivy was beginning to get quite irritated, but brushed it off and tried to focus on her apple.

Darumaka tapped Snivy on her left shoulder again, but this time Snivy did not look. The young Fire Pokemon tapped her again, but once again Snivy ignored it. Darumaka tapped Snivy for a third time, and this time Snivy responded by extending her vine whips and wrapping them around Darumaka. After sensing she had grabbed whomever it was that was bugging her, Snivy used her whips to fling Darumaka into the trunk of a nearby tree. She then went back to enjoying her apple in peace.

Darumaka soon recovered from being thrown into the tree and noticed Lucario sitting not too far away. The jackal Pokemon's eyes were closed as he meditated. Darumaka quickly scampered over to Lucario. It watched Lucario for a moment before jumping up and tackling into Lucario from his left side. The attack did not move Lucario one inch, and he remained in his calm meditative state. Darumaka attempted to tackle Lucario again, but once again there was no response. The young Fire Pokemon began rapidly bouncing into Lucario again and again, and before long an expression of irritation started to appear on Lucario's face. At last Lucario could take no more, and with a single move of his arm punched Darumaka into the air, sending him at least ten feet away.

When Darumaka got up, it noticed Oshawott still gazing at Suicune with awe. The young Fire Pokemon snickered to itself before tucking in its arms and legs and rolling towards Oshawott from behind like a ball. As Darumaka picked up speed its body became shrouded in flames. It suddenly took off into the air and went in a loop before hurtling into Oshawott like a cannonball. The attack and resulting explosion hurled Oshawott into the air and got the attention of Ash, Misty, and Chili. Just as Misty had gotten to her feet, the flying Oshawott hit her in the face, sending them both tumbling down the hill and into the stream below. Ash and Chili quickly went down to see if the two of them unharmed.

"Misty, you okay?" Ash asked as soon as they got down to the stream to see Misty sitting in the shallow stream.

Oshawott was on his head between Misty's legs. Suddenly all four of them heard the sound of laughing coming from the top of the hill, and when they looked they saw that it was Darumaka.

"So Darumaka did all this?" Chili asked looking surprised and a little embarrassed. Suddenly Misty got back to her feet, an expression of homicidal rage was on her face.

"That little…!" Misty said through gritted teeth.

Suddenly an equally enraged Oshawott got to his feet and fired a stream of water from his mouth at Darumaka. Darumaka flinched and just barely avoided the attack. It then ran down the hill and hid behind Chili's legs. Oshawott continued to glare at the young Fire Pokemon.

"Oh boy. Misty, I'm really sorry about this." Chili said with a very apologetic and somewhat frightened expression. "I guess Darumaka's a little more of a handful than I thought." Misty simply continued to glare at both Chili and Darumaka. "Uh, Ash? A little help?"

"You're on your own buddy." Ash told him. "But maybe Darumaka would calm down if it had a battle."

"That's fine with me." Misty replied.

"Uh, okay." Chili said somewhat reluctantly.

In moments the group was back at the top of the hill, and Oshawott and Darumaka were standing ready to face each other. Though Darumaka seemed a little bit frightened of Oshawott.

"Oshawott, start off with Aqua Jet!" Misty commanded.

"Osha!" Oshawott replied as he jumped in the air and became shrouded in water. The otter Pokemon came at Darumaka like a missile.

"Quick, dodge it!" Chili commanded.

At the last second, Darumaka managed to move out of the way of the oncoming Oshawott. Suddenly the young Fire Pokemon began glowing with an orange aura, and with a move of its right arm it sent a beam of orange light into the sky. The sun overhead began to shine brighter.

"Whoa, Darumaka used Sunny Day!" Ash observed on the sidelines. Suddenly Darumaka fired a beam of light from its forehead. Oshawott detached the seashell on his chest to try and block the attack but was knocked back a few feet.

"That was Solar Beam!" Chili realized.

Oshawott got back to his feet and cried out. Suddenly his body began to glow with a white light and change shape. When the light faded Oshawott was standing at about three feet tall. His body had become mainly light blue, and his arms and legs had become more developed. His paws and ears had become black along with his tail, which had grown in size. The otter Pokemon's nose had become smaller and red, and on each cheek was a pair of white whiskers arranged like V's. Towards the back of his head on the top was a pointed crest of fur. Around his waist was a sort of blue armored skirt, carrying a pair of seashells similar to the one that originally adorned Oshawott's chest.

"Uh-oh, he evolved." Chili observed as both he and Darumaka flinched. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out more about the newly evolved Pokemon.

"Dewott, the Disciplen Pokemon, and the evolved form of Oshawott." The Pokedex identified. "Through strict training Dewott has learned to use the two scalchop shells at its waist to perform powerful sword techniques. Each individual Dewott has its own individual sword technique."

"Okay then." Misty said with a somewhat sinister grin. "Dewott, use Aqua Jet again!"

Dewott jumped into the air again, his body becoming covered in water as he did so. With incredible speed, Dewott rammed into Darumaka and knocked it into the air.

"Finish with Razor Shell!" Misty ordered.

Dewott detached the two shells from his waist and held them in his paws. Blades of water extended from the shells, turning them into swords. In an instant Dewott jumped into the air and hit Darumaka with a vertical slash from the blade in his right paw before the young Fire Pokemon could hit the ground. Then he hit Darumaka with a horizontal slash with his left blade. Darumaka finally landed on the ground unconscious. The blades of water disappeared, and Dewott twirled his two shells before placing them back on his waist.

"So Chill, still think Water Pokemon trainers aren't as strong as Fire trainers?" Misty said with a triumphant smirk as she put her hands on her hips.

"I never said…! Oh never mind, I give up." Chili said with a sigh.

Suddenly Suicune approached from where it had been watching the battle. The beast of water stopped and sat down next to Misty. Dewott approached Suicune and kneeled before it, and Suicune responded with a nod of respect.

"Well, I guess that's that." Ash concluded. "We should probably get going now."

A few minutes later, the group had gathered up their Pokemon and had packed up camp. As they started back on the path, Ash hung back a moment to talk to Chili.

"So Chili, what did we learn today?" Ash said half jokingly.

"Well I learned not to say that Water Pokemon trainers aren't as skilled as Fire trainers around Misty. That's for sure." Chili replied. "I guess I also learned that training Darumaka isn't going to be as easy as I thought. Still, I'm up to the challenge!"

"I'm sure you are." Ash agreed. "Just do me one favor though."

"Sure, what's that?" Chili asked.

"Don't give Darumaka coffee." Ash replied.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This was a fairly challenging chapter to write actually. Mainly because most Pokemon don't have actual dialogue. Still, this was kind of a fun chapter because I got to show how some of our heroes' Pokemon interacted with each other. Anyway, I hope this was an amusing chapter. Sorry if it wasn't very long.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	12. Ninja Girl Rio

**Author's Note:** I ended up doing a major rethink on this next chapter. I had another idea in mind, but decided that it wasn't going to work. So I ended up advancing things a tiny bit. As some of you reading might recall from the anime, Cilan had that rival that annoying rival that kept popping up. The same sort of thing is going to happen here, but with a different character.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 11: Ninja Girl Rio

After almost four days of walking, Ash and his friends had finally arrived in Pinwheel Forest. The massive towering trees of the forest all but blocked out the sky above, and though the forest was silent the group could tell that it was full of life. As they walked though the forest Misty held on tightly to Ash's arm in fear that some irate Bug Pokemon would jump out at them. But so far they had not run into any kind of Pokemon. Yet an eerie calm continued to hand over the labyrinthine forest.

"Chili, how much longer until we're out?" Misty asked. "This place is giving me the creeps."

"It's hard to say actually." Chili answered. "Pinwheel Forest is the second biggest forest in all of Unova. We could be in here for awhile."

"Let's just hope we're going the right way." Ash pointed out.

"Relax, with my flawless sense of direction, there's no way we'll get lost." Chili assured him.

"Is this the same sense of direction that keep getting us lost after we left Striation City?" Misty reminded him.

"Uh, well…" Chili began to reply, but before he could get any further his foot snagged on a long almost invisible vine that was strung between two trees. In seconds a large metal cage dropped down and trapped the five travelers.

"Oh great! Now what?" Misty groaned.

As if in answer to Misty's question, a figure jumped down from the high branch of another tree and landed right in front of their cage. The figure was a girl who looked to be about eleven or twelve with long dark-green hair and brown eyes. She was wearing what looked like a sort of green ninja outfit, which included a stocking that covered the lower half of her face.

"Who are you and what do you want with us?" Ash demanded to know.

"My quarrel is not with you." The ninja girl said as she lowered her mask to reveal her face. "But I do have a score to settle with your friend, Chili."

"What? Why me?" A surprised Chili asked.

"You don't remember me, do you?" the ninja girl asked with a slightly amused smirk.

"This isn't good, is it?" Chili asked Ash and Misty.

"Nope." Ash confirmed.

"Never is." Misty agreed.

"I didn't think that you would." The ninja girl continued. "After all, what Pokemon Trainer bothers to remember the names of those who've they've defeated. But I guarantee that before this day is over, you will remember who I am."

"So, who are you then?" Chili asked.

"My name is Rio Ogata," the ninja girl answered, "and about eight months ago I began my journey as a Pokemon Trainer. My dream was to become the greatest Grass Pokemon trainer that the world has ever known, but then I entered your family's gym and lost to you in a battle. And if that wasn't bad enough… you made me pay that outrageous bill for the lunch I ate at the gym!"

"I get it, so you're another victim of that scam Chili and his brothers were running." Misty realized.

"You know you don't have to put it like that." Chili told her.

"C'mon Chili, those menu prices you guys had were pretty small to read." Ash reminded him. "Not to mention steep."

"Will you three be quiet while I finish my story?" Rio angrily cut in.

"Oh sorry, go on." Ash told her.

"Anyway, I ended up having to call my parents to pay the bill." Rio continued. "They were so mad at me that they forced me to come home. And what was worse was that after are battle you insulted me and my Pokemon and said that we were weak!"

"I don't ever remember ever doing anything like that." Chili said as he scratched the back of his head.

"I'm not surprised by that at all." Rio replied. "But on that day I swore to one day get revenge on you. And not long after I had returned home I found out about a special training program in my town that was being run by the great ninja master, Koga."

"Wait, as in Koga, the leader of the Fuchsia City Gym in Kanto?" Ash cut in looking surprised.

"Hah! That was ages ago." Rio replied. "Today, Master Koga is a member of the Elite Four in Kanto and Johto. Anyway, I had found the way to exact my revenge. And once I completed my training and finally got permission from my parents to go back on my journey I set back out to Striation City. But then… but then I found out that Chili had left of some sort of training journey!"

"Oh, so what did you do?" Chili asked.

"I took it out on your brother Cilan." Rio answered. "I easily crushed him and gained the Trio Badge for myself."

"And then you went out to look for Chili." Ash assumed.

"That's right," Rio confirmed, "and I've been waiting here in Pinwheel Forest. I knew that I'd probably run into you here and laid traps, knowing that you would set off at least one. And now I have you right where I want you Chili! That cage you and your friends are in is made of the latest lightweight fireproof metal. It can withstand even the strongest Fire-type Pokemon attack. There's no way you can escape me!"

"Lucario, Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded as Rio laughed triumphantly.

Lucario hit the front of the cage with a white glowing punch, causing the front of the cage to fall off. Rio looked on with a surprised and dumbfounded expression as Ash and the others calmly walked out.

"Hey, no fair!" Rio exclaimed. "You can't just break my cage like that!"

"Why not? You trapped us in it too." Misty pointed out. "Now we're in no mood to deal with crazy people right now, so we'll be going."

"Wait a second!" Rio yelled as she threw a small metal shuriken at Chili's feet, causing the group to stop. "None of you are going anywhere until I get my revenge! I challenge you to a battle Chili! Right here, right now!"

"Well in that case, I'm happy to take you on." Chili said before making a dramatic pose with his fists. "It's the least I can do after what happened to you at my family's gym. Besides, I never turn down a challenge!" With that, the two took their positions to begin battle.

"This'll be three-on-three!" Rio declared as she threw out a Pokeball. "Go Swadloon!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a yellow insect-like creature wrapped in a sort of blanket made out of large green leaves. It stood at almost two feet tall and had a frown on its face.

"Fine with me. Go Darumaka!" Chili called as he threw out his own Pokeball. The young Fire Pokemon emerged and stood ready to face Swadloon. "Attack with Flame Wheel!"

"Quick, use Protect!" Rio commanded.

Darumaka tucked in its legs and began rolling at Swadloon like a ball. As it rolled its body became shrouded in flames and suddenly took off into the air. Darumaka made a loop in the air before heading towards Swadloon like fiery meteor. But at the last second a shield of blue-green light appeared above Swadloon and blocked the attack, causing Darumaka to bounce off.

"Now use Toxic!" Rio ordered. Swadloon spat out a purple mist at Darumaka, and suddenly Darumaka began to looks sick.

"Now Darumaka's poisoned!" Misty observed on the sidelines. "I wonder if Rio learned that move from Koga?"

"Probably. Koga's a Poison-type specialist after all." Ash replied.

"I guess I should finish this quick!" Chili observed. "Darumaka, use Flame Wheel one more time!"

"Use Protect again!" Rio commanded.

Just as before, Darumaka tucked in its limbs and rolled at Swadloon. Its body became covered in flames as it once again took off into the air and making a loop. Darumaka came at Swadloon, and before the Bug Pokemon could form another shield Darumaka hit it in the face. When the attack ended with a small explosion of flames, Swadloon was on its side unconscious.

"What? How could this be? I had Swadloon use Protect!" Rio exclaimed.

"True, but Protect doesn't always work when used over and over again." Chili pointed out. "Looks like the first round goes to me."

"Celebrate while you can." Rio said as she called Swadloon back to its ball. "Go Amoonguss!"

Emerging from Rio's thrown Pokeball was a two-foot tall off-white mushroom with a large cap that had a Pokeball design on it. Just below the cap on the front of the stem were two eyes and a round mouth with large pink lip. At its sides were two short arms that ended in two more mushroom caps with Pokeball designs on the front.

"Attack Darumaka with Venoshock!" Rio commanded.

Amoonguss spat out a green slimy liquid from its mouth that hit Darumaka and blew it against a tree. When the attack ended, Darumaka was out cold.

"What kind of attack was that?" Chili asked.

"Venoshock, an attack that does more damage when the opponent is poisoned." Rio explained. Chili then called the fallen Darumaka back to its ball.

"Okay then, go Tepig!" Chili called as he threw out another ball. The fire pig emerged from its ball and gritted its teeth at Amoonguss.

"Didn't quite expect that." Rio commented. "Still, it doesn't change a thing. Amoonguss, use Toxic!" Amoonguss sprayed a purple mist from its mouth at Tepig, and just like Darumaka, Tepig began to look very ill.

"Do all of Rio's Pokemon know Toxic?" Misty wondered.

"It looks that way." Ash replied. "I guess we shouldn't be surprised since Rio was trained by Koga."

"Hang in there, Tepig! Use Ember!" Chili commanded. Tepig then shot flaming bullets from its nose at Amoonguss, knocking the mushroom Pokemon back a bit.

"Nice try, but it won't work!" Rio confidently declared. "Amoonguss, use Venoshock!" Amoonguss then sprayed another powerful blast of green slime at Tepig. But when the attack ended Tepig was still on its feet. "What?"

"Nice try, but Tepig and I aren't that easy to take down!" Chili declared as he made another dramatic pose with his fists. "It'll take more than that to put out our fiery spirit! Tepig, use Flame Charge!"

Tepig swiped the ground with its right front hoof and bared its teeth. It then ran at Amoonguss at full speed, and as it did its body began shrouded in flames. Tepig rammed into Amoonguss, knocking the mushroom Pokemon into the air. A moment later Amoonguss hit the ground and was out cold. Suddenly Tepig staggered a bit and fell to its side unconscious.

"They both lost?" Misty said looking surprised.

"It looks like the poison from Toxic finally got to Tepig." Ash assumed. "That and Amoonguss's Venoshock must've done a lot of damage."

"I guess this round is a draw." Rio said as both she and Chill called back their Pokemon. "It will all be decided with the next battle. Come on out Servine!"

Emerging from Rio's thrown Pokeball was a creature that looked very similar to Snivy, only taller and more snake-like. Its legs were small and its arms were more like leaves. On its lower back were two plate-like leaves, and extending from its chest was a sort of yellow collar. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out more about this Pokemon.

"Servine, the Grass Snake Pokemon, and the evolved form of Snivy." The Pokedex identified. "This Pokemon masterfully hides in foliage and attacks with a powerful Vine Whip."

"Okay then, go Pansear!" Chili called out. Pansear emerged from the thrown ball and stood ready for battle.

"Use Toxic!" Rio commanded. Servine spit out a purple mist at Pansear, causing the fire monkey to become ill. "Now use Gastro Acid!"

"Quick, use Dig!" Chili commanded.

Servine reared back its head and then sprayed out a blast of purple acidic liquid at Pansear. But at the last minute Pansear managed to quickly tunnel into the ground and avoided the attack. Servine then began looking around for where Pansear might come up.

"Where did it go?" Rio asked. In answer to her question, Pansear burst out of the ground right beneath Servine, knocking the grass snake up into the air.

"Use Fire Punch!" Chili commanded.

While still in the air, Pansear delivered a powerful flaming punch to Servine's chest. Servine landed back on the ground and managed to get back to its feet. Pansear landed to face the grass snake but was breathing heavily.

"End this with Vine Whip!" Rio commanded.

"Dodge and use Flamethrower!" Chili ordered.

Servine extended a pair of green vines from its shoulders and swung them at Pansear. The fire monkey managed to roll out of the way of the attack and blasted Servine with a powerful stream of flames from its mouth. The attack hit Servine in the face, causing the grass snake to fall to the ground unconscious.

"Well, I guess that's that." Chili commented as Rio called Servine back to its ball. "Still, you put up a really good fight."

"Hmph! You may have won this battle Chili. But mark my words, I will have my revenge!" Rio declared, and with that she threw a small smoke bomb that clouded everyone's vision. When the smoke cleared Rio was gone.

"Well, that was a little weird." Ash commented.

"Sorry about this guys." Chili said apologetically to Ash and Misty. "I guess this was all technically my fault."

"Don't worry about. It's not like Rio caused any major problems." Ash pointed out.

"Ash is right. But just to be safe, maybe you should tell us about any other trainers that you defeated and might want revenge." Misty suggested.

"Actually I can't remember anyone else." Chili admitted. "Though I do remember this one trainer that my brother Cilan beat once. I think her name was Burgundy or something like that. Anyway, it was kind of the same thing that happened with Rio."

"Well, if Rio is the worst you have to worry about, I don't think you'll have any problems." Ash guessed. "Still, I have a feeling we might just run into Rio again."

"Yeah, but I'm actually looking forward to that." Chili admitted. "I never battled a Grass Pokemon trainer that was so strong before. The idea of facing Rio again has me all fired up."

"Well for now, let's just worry about getting out of this forest and hope we don't spring another one of Rio's traps." Misty suggested. The others nodded in agreement and with that, the group continued on their journey.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone asks, Rio is going to pop up again later in this story. The conception of Rio's character is sort of an interesting one. I sort of decided from the beginning that Burgundy wasn't going to be Chili's rival, mainly because she annoys the heck out of me. So of course I decided to come up with my own character. I came up with Rio's name after hearing a song on the radio while in the car and it just stuck. As for how I decided to make her a ninja I don't quite know.

These last couple of chapters have been pretty light, but the next one might be a little dark. Still, it's going to be a big one, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	13. Day of the Venipede

**Author's Note:** By now I probably should've gotten back to the other Pokemon story I've been working on along side this one, but this is a chapter that I've been looking forward to doing for months. As you can probably guess from the title, this chapter is a new version of the Venipede episode that took place before the Castelia gym battle. And believe me, I've put one heck of a twist on it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 12: Day of the Venipede

Almost a day and a half passed since Ash and his friends encountered Chili's latest rival, Rio. In that time they left the massive Pinwheel Forest and had crossed over the Skyarrow Bridge. The afternoon sun hung in the sky as the travelers entered the vast Castelia City. They wandered for a bit until they came to vast Circular Park in the center of the city. The group took a break near a bench as Chili got out a guidebook he had acquired earlier to check for directions.

"Well, we finally made it." Ash commented. "Now all we have to do is find the gym. Any idea where that might be Chili?"

"Not really, this thing is a little confusing." Chili replied as he continued to look through the book.

Misty glanced around and noticed a man standing under a tree looking up into the branches as he held his chin, as if he were in deep thought. He was a slender-looking man with a mess of curly brown hair on his head. The man wore a green shirt with a low collar and sleeves that ended just past his elbows, along with a purplish-red scarf. His long pants were also purple and had dark-green vertical stripes running down them. The man's belt had a silver buckle in the shape of a butterfly and had purple dots on the upper wings.

"Why don't we ask that guy under the tree for directions?" Misty suggested. The others nodded and went over.

"Excuse me sir." Ash spoke, getting the brown-haired man's attention. "Could you tell us the way to the Castelia City Gym?"

"I certainly can, but if you've come to challenge the gym, I'm afraid it'll have to wait." The man replied.

"Care to explain why?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, excuse me. I should introduce myself." The man said with an apologetic smile. "I'm Burgh, leader of the Castelia Gym. And as I said before, your battle with me will have to wait. There's something strange going on here in this city that has me concerned. And until I can figure it out, I'm afraid I can't accept any challenges."

"Then maybe we can help you figure out what's going on." Ash suggested. "I'm Ash by the way, and this is my girlfriend Misty and our friend Chili."

"I'd welcome your help." Burgh gladly agreed. "You see I can sense that something has the Bug Pokemon living in this area on edge, and I can't seem to figure out the cause."

Suddenly Pikachu's ears twitched to something that the others could hear. The electric rodent hopped off Ash's shoulder and went towards the street, prompting Ash and the others to follow. Pikachu led the group over to a manhole cover on the street next to the park.

"Looks like Pikachu heard something down in the sewers." Ash deduced.

"You think what he hears has something to do with what's bothering the Bug Pokemon?" Chili asked.

"Only one way to find out." Burgh pointed out.

In moments Ash and Chili removed the manhole cover and followed Pikachu down into the sewers. They followed the electric rodent until they ran across something that seemed to have its head stuck in a pipe. From its hind end the creature looked like a sort of green insect larva with stubby black legs. The tip of its hind end was magenta and had two long spike-like tails that each had a dark-green band around them. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out just exactly what they were looking at. The display of the Pokedex showed that the front half of the creature was mainly magenta. Covering its upper body was a pronounced sort of shell with dark-green circles on the sides. The creature also had a dark-green band around what could be considered its neck, as well as a dark-green jaw. Its two antenna had dark-green bands around the middle, and its eyes were quite large and mostly yellow.

"Venipede, the Centipede Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "The venom this Pokemon secretes is strong enough to paralyze large bird Pokemon."

"It looks like it's stuck." Chili observed. "I wonder how that happened?"

"Who cares? Let's just get the poor guy out." Ash said as he walked over to the pipe.

"Hold on Ash." Burgh cut in. "Venipede's ability is Poison Point. The slightest touch could poison you badly."

"Ash, maybe we should go find some help." Misty suggested.

"That could take too long." Ash pointed out. "And this Venipede needs our help right now."

Ash then grabbed Venipede's hind end and began to pull, at the same time pushing his right leg against the sewer wall for more power. After a few moments, Ash finally extracted Venipede from the pipe and fell back to the ground, dropping Venipede in the process. Venipede got to is feet and suddenly let out a horrid earsplitting screech.

"Hey! Calm down!" Ash told the Venipede as he sat up. "We're only trying to help!" In a moment the sound stopped and Venipede fell to its side. Ash went over and picked Venipede up. "You shouldn't push yourself like that if you're hurt. Now just relax."

Suddenly Venipede managed to jump out of Ash's hands and rammed into his face, causing him to fall back. Venipeded then managed to land on the ground on its feet. Pikachu and Lucario promptly went over and began speaking to Venipede in their own language. After a moment Venipede seemed to become calm.

"Ash!" Misty cried with a worried expression as she went over to her fallen boyfriend.

"I'm okay, just a little dizzy." Ash assured her.

"Looks like Venipede's Poison Point got to you." Chili deduced as he went over and pulled out a small silver bowl and a bottle of orange liquid. He then poured the liquid in the bowl and handed it to Ash. "Here, drink this. It's a good thing I had a little Antidote left over."

"Of all the stupid things you've ever done! This is the worst!" Misty yelled as Ash drank the medicine.

"And what would you have me do? Leave that poor Venipede to struggle?" Ash retorted as he got back to his feet.

"…No, I guess not." Misty relented as her expression softened.

"Look, I'm fine now. And there was no major harm done." Ash said as he pulled Misty into a hug. "So just relax, okay?"

"Okay." Misty said as she hugged Ash back.

"It looks like this Venipede is fine too." Burgh said as he kneeled down to check on the centipede Pokemon's injuries. He put a large white bandage on Venipede's back and put down a large blue berry, which Venipede began to eat. "Well Ash, it seems that this Venipede has reacted to your pure heart. Well done."

Suddenly both Pikachu and Lucario react to soft skittering noise coming from a nearby tunnel. In moments a whole swarm of Venipede began stampeding through across the tunnel into another pipeline. The very site caused Misty to turn a bit green.

"Whoa! That's a lot of Venipede!" Chili declared.

"What are they even doing down here?" Misty wondered.

"The Venipede are supposed to be living out in the desert outside the city." Burgh in formed them. "They must be getting in through the pipeline that connects to a river near than desert. But I no idea why they would come here, unless something drove them out."

Before anyone could try and figure out what was going on, a few of the Venipede noticed the group and launched several balls of thick brown sludge at them. Very quickly Ash raised his right arm, and from his hand came a barrier of blue light that formed around the whole group. The balls of sludge hit the barrier and exploded.

"Something has these Venipede very upset!" Burgh declared.

"Gee, ya think?" Misty said very sarcastically.

"We have to go topside and see what's happening!" Burgh told them.

"Right!" Ash agreed, and with that they began to run out of the sewers. Though Ash stayed behind a moment to speak to the Venipede they helped. "You stay here little guy, it's a lot safer."

In moments, the group emerged from the same manhole they had gone down before and were greatly startled by what they saw. All over the city swarms of Venipede were rampaging through the streets and crawling all over the buildings. A few large groups had gathered together to turn over parked cars and trucks. The swarm was even carrying off a few people, while many others were simply running around in panic. Suddenly the city's Officer Jenny pulled up to the group on her police motorcycle, which included a white sidecar.

"You people have to evacuate!" Officer Jenny told them. "A swarm of Venipede has invaded the city!"

"Do you have any idea what's causing it?" Burgh asked.

"No, but Professor Juniper is working to figure it out." Officer Jenny answered. "But it seems like something has scared them from their home in the Resort Desert."

"I'd like to help out if I could." Burgh offered. "If I can talk to Professor Juniper, maybe I can help figure out what's going on."

"Anything you could do to help would be welcome." Officer Jenny agreed. "We're not too far away from the Pokemon Center. I'll take you there right away."

With that, Burgh got in Officer Jenny's sidecar and they drove off. Right after Burgh and Officer Jenny left, Ash and the others heard an explosion from around the corner. They quickly ran towards the explosion to investigate. What they saw was Trip standing against a large part of the swarm. Floating in front of him was a creature that looked like a black oil lamp with a purple flame, and on the front of the glass were two small yellow eyes. Standing with Trip against the swarm was a girl with long blonde hair wearing a light-blue t-shirt shirt and black jeans who had a Pansear, and a boy with dark hair wearing a green short-sleeved shirt and grey jeans who had a Pignite.

"We can't let up!" Trip said to the other two trainers. "Lampent, use Flamethrower!" The oil lamp Pokemon sent out a stream of red fire at the swarm.

"Use Flamethrower!" the other two trainers commanded their Pokemon. Both the girl's Pansear and the boy's Pignite breathed out a stream of fire. The swarm reacted by hurling balls of sludge at the Pokemon that exploded on contact.

"Hey punk!" Ash called as he and the others ran over, causing Trip to look.

"Oh, it's you." Trip said in a somewhat irritated tone.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Ash angrily asked.

"What does it look like?" Trip said as if it were obvious. "These Venipede attacked the city so we're fighting back."

"You can't do that!" Ash told him. "Right now Professor Juniper is working to find out why they've come here. So you can't attack them!"

"So naïve." Trip said as he shook his head. "This isn't the Kanto Region boonies Ash. I don't know what kind of Pokemon you're used to dealing with over there, but over here in situations like this, the only answer is to fight."

"You idiot!" Ash cursed.

"This young man is right." A voice suddenly spoke. Entering the crowd was an older man with grey hair and a mustache wearing a grey suit and red bowtie. "These Venipede are a threat to our fair city, and as mayor I cannot allow their presence to continue. They must be cleared out immediately! And the only way to do that is to battle them!"

"You heard him! Lampent use Flamethrower!" Trip commanded.

"Damn it!" Ash cried as he ran in between Lampent and the swarm.

In seconds, Lampent shot out another stream of flames. Ash jumped in front of the attack and just barley managed to put up a small barrier, but the force of the attack knocked him back. As the flames washed only inches away from his face against the barrier, Ash suddenly flashed back to when Team Galactic's headquarters in Sinnoh self-destructed. He then flashed back to when he was forced to watch as Cyrus tortured the Lake Guardians in order to forge the Red Chain. And then as Ash hit the ground and the flames cleared, he looked and saw the cold expression on Trip's face and for a moment thought he saw Cyrus standing before him again.

"What do you think you're doing?" Trip asked, again with a hint of irritation in his voice. "Get out the way or else you'll become an enemy too."

"You idiot." Ash said in a low angry tone as he got back to his feet. "You cold-hearted bastard! These Venipede are only here because something's scared them from their homes, and you attack them like they're monsters!"

"Why they're here isn't important." Trip coldly replied. "All that matters is getting rid of them."

"Yeah! And besides, these Venipede started it!" the girl with the Pansear cut in. "This is war now! So get out of our way or get roasted!"

"I won't hesitate to attack you." Trip warned. "So if you know what's good for you, get out of our way."

"Fine, you wanna fight, I'll give you one! Go Ho-Oh!" Ash angrily called as he threw out a Pokeball. The great phoenix emerged from its ball with a shriek, surprising everyone. Immediately Pikachu and Lucario rushed over to Ash's side. "Sacred Fire!"

Ho-Oh's eyes began to glow blue and its body became covered in rose-colored flames. With a flap of its wings the great bird sent a wave of fire that not only knocked out the three Pokemon, but the attack was at such close range that it knocked Trip and the other two trainers to the ground. The boy with the Pignite found that the right leg of his pants was on fire, causing him to quickly put it out.

"Now listen to me you idiots." Ash said in a low and very threatening tone. "If any of you even lays a finger one of those Venipede… I'll burn you to a crisp."

Pikachu got on all fours and bared his teeth as electricity crackled from his cheeks and Lucario growled and took a fighting stance. Ash looked at Trip and the other two trainers with cold threatening eyes. The boy with the Pignite called back his Pokemon and ran off scared. Misty meanwhile was looking at Ash with a frightened expression. The tension of the standoff was broken by the sudden sound of clapping. Ash and the others turned and saw that it was N.

"I saw the whole thing Ash." N said as he stopped clapping and walked towards them. "Truly an impressive display, but maybe a little over the top."

"N, what're you…?" a surprised Ash began to ask.

"I was just passing through and saw all the trouble that was going on." N said innocently. "I witnessed your whole confrontation with these trainers. But like I said, I think you might have gone a little too far there. You seem to be freaking everyone out, especially your orange-haired friend over there."

N's news startled Ash and caused the flame of anger in his mind to go out and reality to snap back to normal. He turned and saw that not only was Chili shocked, Misty was looking at him with fear in her eyes. Ash called Ho-Oh back to its Pokeball and looked down in shame.

"Still, I don't blame you for your reaction." N continued. "These poor Venipede come to this city out of fear and the people here can only see them as enemies."

"Just who are you young man?" the mayor asked.

"I am N, and I've come to stand up for these poor Pokemon." N replied with a gentle smile.

"Poor Pokemon my butt!" the girl with the Pansear cut in. "Those Venipede just showed up and started attacking everyone!"

"But they didn't start the fight." N retorted. "Pokemon only attack if they're frightened or if ordered to by a trainer. The fact is these Venipede are really gentle Pokemon. I'll show you."

With that, N kneeled down and held out his hand to the swarm. Three of the Venipede hesitantly approached N. N then began to stroke the back of their shells. The mayor and many of the other people on the scene looked on with surprise.

"You see? These Venipede are really quite friendly." N told them. At that moment Officer Jenny and Burgh arrived and saw the odd display before them.

"What's going on here?" Burgh asked as he got out of the sidecar.

"Enough of this!" the mayor cut in. "The fact remains that these Venipede are still wreaking havoc on our city and must be removed!"

"There is a way to do that without attacking them." Burgh told the mayor. "If we can find the leader of the swarm, we might be able to gather the Venipede in one place and lead them out of the city."

"Alight, I'll give you until the end of the day." The mayor told Burgh. "If you can't get it done by then I'll be forced to take extreme measures."

"Of course. Officer Jenny, I'd appreciate it if you went and got Nurse Joy and her Audino." Burgh requested. "We'll need their help if we're to get this done."

"I'm on it!" Officer Jenny said before riding off.

"It seems like a good idea to me." N chimed in. "Ash, perhaps you and your friends should help Burgh."

"Huh?" Ash said after being snapped from his thoughts. "Oh… right."

Burgh then went off to go find the leader of the swarm. Ash began to follow with Pikachu and Lucario, but stopped a moment to look at Misty. He then turned away and ran to catch up to Burgh, and after a moment Misty and Chili both followed. Trip began to follow Ash as well, but N stepped up and got in his way.

"I can't allow you to interfere." N told Trip. "I can tell that you only bare the Venipede ill will, even after what I just showed you."

"Get out of my way." Trip demanded calmly.

"Not going to happen." N replied.

"Then you better get ready for a battle." Trip said a little more forcefully.

"I prefer not to fight. But if battling is the only way to keep you out of Ash's way, my little friends and I are more than willing to take you on." N said as he gestured to the Venipede swarm behind him.

* * *

Back at Professor Juniper's lab, Gary was looking at a large screen with a satellite image of Castelia City. He typed in something on the consul built in under the screen, and the image moves to a large desert outside the city. After typing in another command the image changed to a black wire frame map that showed a large red mass in the area of the desert.

"Professor! I think I've found something!" Gary called. The professor quickly walked into the room. "The EXA Satellite has picked up some major seismic activity in the Resort Desert."

"Then it looks like our suspicions were correct." Professor Juniper said as she examined the screen. "Something has disturbed the Venipede's natural habitat under the Resort Desert and caused them to move into Castelia City."

"But what could cause such a disturbance?" Gary wondered.

"I have no idea." Professor Juniper replied. "But there is a way to find out. Let's head out to the Resort Desert as soon as possible."

* * *

Back in Castelia City, the battle between Trip and N had become rather grim, or at least it had for Trip. He was down to his last Pokemon, Servine, which had evolved from the Snivy he had gotten when he started his journey. Servine had already taken heavy damage, while the Venipede that had joined N in battle was still in very good shape.

"Now my little friend, finish this with Sludge Bomb!" N commanded. N's Venipede friend fired a large ball of brown sludge that hit Servine and exploded. When the smoke cleared, Servine was on the ground unconscious. "Well, I guess I win."

"Impossible! How can you command those Venipede?" Trip demanded to know. "You didn't even catch them!"

"I was raised by Pokemon before my father found me. As a result I have a sort of unique bond with Pokemon." N explained. "But I wouldn't expect someone like you who only uses Pokemon as tools to understand that. Well, I should be going. Believe it or not, I have some urgent business to attend to."

With that, N turned and walked off, and as he did a few Venipede broke off from the main swarm and began to follow him. Trip watched N walk away with calm expression, but his eyes were filled with anger.

* * *

In another part of the City, Ash and the others were looking for the leader of the swarm. They looked all over, but all the Venipede crawling around the city all seemed to look alike. At first glance there did not seem to be one Venipded that stood out from all the others.

"How can we tell which one is leader of the swarm?" Chili asked.

"Right now we're in the center of the swarm. The leader should be in a place where it can monitor things and direct the swarm." Burgh answered.

Misty cringed as a Venipede brushed against her leg as it walked. She then glanced around and noticed a Venipede on top of a clock tower that was a bit larger than normal. There were several other Venipede on the tower that almost completely covered its surface.

"Hey Burgh, I think I found the leader." Misty said as she pointed at the top of the clock tower. The group headed over to the tower, and as soon as they did the large Venipede jumped down to face them.

"We mean you know harm." Burgh said to the lead Venipede. "But if you stay here in this city you'll be in danger. Please let me lead you to a place where you'll be safer."

The lead Venipede reacted by hurling a Sludge Bomb at Burgh, which Burgh narrowly avoided by ducking out of the way. Just then the Venipede Ash pulled out of the sewer pipe shows up and crawled up to Ash. It looked at Ash and the others for a moment before skittering over and speaking to the lead Venipede in its own language. The lead Venipede began to calm down. And at that moment Officer Jenny arrived with the city's Nurse Joy.

Riding in the sidecar with Nurse Joy was a bipedal mammalian creature that was mainly pink, but had cream-colored sections on the underside of its snout, the front of its neck, its chest, and the bottom of its ears. Its ears were quite large and had long feelers growing from their underside, as well as a cream-colored underside and legs. On its rear was a puff of white fur like the tail of a rabbit, and it had striking blue eyes. Adorning the top of the creature's head was a nurse's hat.

"Right on time Nurse Joy." Burgh said to the Pokemon nurse. "I need you to have Audino use Heal Pulse on the Venipede to calm them."

"No problem." Nurse Joy replied. "Okay Audino, you heard him."

The pink creature that was Audino got out of the sidecar and brought its paws together. Between its paws formed a large ball of pink light. Audino threw the ball and it exploded, sprinkling the Venipede with pink sparkling light. Much of the swarm began to calm down.

"Alright, I'll lead the swarm into the center of town until we can figure out where to put them." Burgh said as he pulled out a green beetle-shaped flute from his pocket. "Ash, I'll need you and the others to help round up any stragglers."

"Okay." Ash replied, though it still seemed like he was reeling from the earlier incident with Trip.

Burgh began to play a lively tune on his flute that caused the Venipede to gather around. As Burgh walked while playing his flute much of the swarm began to follow. Ash and the others noticed that a few of the Venipede on one of the buildings were not following.

"I'll handle this. Go Cofagrigus!" Ash called as he threw out a Pokeball. The coffin Pokemon emerged from the ball and hover in the air. "Cofagrigus, I need you to use Psychic to move the Venipede off that building."

Cofagrigus bowed to Ash and then turned to the building with the stragglers on it. With a gesture of the coffin Pokemon's shadowy arms, the Venipede glowed with a purple aura and were gently moved off the side of the building and placed down on the ground. The Venipede stragglers then began to follow the rest of the swarm.

"Good job, but we've still got a long way to go." Officer Jenny said to Ash. "Let's just keep going."

* * *

Hours later the sun had begun to set and the entire swarm had been moved to the park in the middle of the city. Ash was in a room on the top floor of the Pokemon Center with Pikachu and Lucario. As Ash sat on the bed and looked out the window, the door slowly opened and Misty walked in. Pikachu and Lucario looked at each other before exiting the room. Ash turned to look at Misty a moment before turning back to the window.

"…I don't know how you can stand to look at me." Ash said after a moment. "You must think I'm a monster after what I did earlier."

"…I could never think of you as a monster." Misty said after walking over to Ash and sitting next to him on the bed. "But you did scare me a little when you attack Trip and those other trainers like that. You didn't look like yourself…. What happened back there?"

"When I blocked the attack from Trip's Pokemon, the fire reminded me of the day Riley died when Team Galactic's base exploded." Ash explained. "And that made me remember… something else that happened that day. Then the fire cleared and I saw that punk Trip looking with that damn cold face of his it reminded me of that bastard Cyrus…. After that I guess I just lost it."

"Ash… what happened to you when we were captured by Team Galactic?" Misty asked hesitantly. Ash turned and simply looked at her for several moments.

"…It started when Saturn took me to see that bastard." Ash finally began. "He told me about his sick plan to destroy the world, and then…" At this point Ash began to tear up. "And then… he brought me to this room where he had Uxie, Azelf, and Mesprit strapped to the machines…. Then he forced me to watch Misty! He forced me to watch as he tortured them for his sick plans!" Ash then completely broke down tears and Misty took him into her arms.

* * *

After what seemed like twenty minutes, Ash and Misty went back down to the lobby of the Pokemon Center with Pikachu and Lucario. There, they found Chili at the front desk talking to Nurse Joy.

"There you guys are." Chili said as he walked over to them. "Everything okay."

"Yeah, we're fine." Ash assured him. "Hey Chili, sorry if I freaked you out earlier today."

"Oh don't worry about. I know you were just trying to protect the Venipede." Chili told him. "And I guess I'd go over the top like that too if I was dealing with a trainer like Trip."

"Well, well, fancy meeting you guys here." A familiar voice turned. Ash and the others turned to see Gary with Professor Juniper in the doorway.

"Gary, Professor Juniper, what're you two doing here?" Ash asked looking a bit surprised.

"We came here to investigate what caused the Venipede to flee the Desert Resort area outside the city." Professor Juniper explained. "Back at my lab we detected some very odd seismic readings we couldn't explain."

"So are you headed for the desert then?" Misty asked.

"That's the plan." Gary confirmed. "We just stopped here to get the help of this city's Officer Jenny and stock up on a few things."

"Professor, I'd like to come with." Ash suddenly requested.

"Ash, are you sure?" Misty asked with a look of concern.

"I don't think I can rest until I find out what forced the Venipede from their homes." Ash explained. "That's why I have to come with."

"Well then I'm coming too." Misty told him and the professor.

"Count me in." Chili agreed.

"I don't know about this. This trip could be too dangerous for you." Professor Juniper told them.

"Relax Professor, Ash and his friends can handle themselves." Gary assured her.

"Well… okay," Professor Juniper reluctantly agreed, "But I ask that you be careful. Who knows what we'll find out there."

* * *

Meanwhile, flying through the night sky towards the Resort Desert was a black jet with a red letter R on the wing. Sitting in a private cabin on the plane sipping a glass of red wine was a man with slicked back brown hair, wearing an orange suit with a green vest, yellow shirt, and red tie. The door to the cabin buzzed, prompting the man to put down his glass.

"Enter." The man ordered. The door opened and in walked a man wearing a black uniform with large red R on the front of his shirt.

"Giovanni sir, we're now approaching the ruin." The man in the uniform reported. "We should be there in less than ten minutes."

"Ah, excellent." Giovanni said with an evil smirk. "Has the excavation been completed?"

"Yes sir, the explosives we planted underground cleared out the last of the rubble." The man in the uniformed replied. "We've also detected movement from Team Plasma. It seems their wise to us sir."

"I shouldn't be surprised, since they've been after this ruin as well." Giovanni said before taking another sip from his glass.

"If I may say so sir, it seems odd that their own excavation of the ruin has gone so slowly." The uniformed man commented. "From what I've read in the reports they haven't been using any explosives in their work."

"They were probably afraid that using explosives would disturb the Pokemon in the area." Giovanni said with a short chuckle. "Fortunately we of Team Rocket aren't that soft. And whatever Team Plasma is after in that ruin, rest assured it will soon belong to us."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I had decided from before even doing the outline of this story that I was going to do a chapter based on the Venipede episode. For one thing it seemed like the perfect episode where they could've brought in N in the actual anime. And the part in this chapter where Ash had his little meltdown and N showed up and held him back just seemed like the perfect scene to me. All in all, this was just a super fun chapter to write. Well, those of you reading can probably guess what's coming next in this story. So stayed tuned and get ready for an epic showdown.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	14. Giovanni vs Ghetsis

**Author's Note:** In the last review I got, DalekDavros asked if since I was doing all of the Unova saga in this story I was planing to do the movies as well. I'm afraid that I won't be, because I feel that they would somehow conflict with the events of this story and others I've done. But I am trying to figure out a story involving the Swords of Justice. Anyway, you can probably tell what's going to happen in this chapter just from the title. When two villains fight, who wins? The readers, that's who (or in the case of movies and television, the viewers).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 13: Giovanni vs. Ghetsis

The light of the moon shined in the night sky as Professor Juniper's helicopter flew over the desert to the source of the seismic event that had disturbed the Venipede swarm and caused the to flee to Castelia City. In the chopper with Ash and his friends aside from the professor and Gary was Castelia City's own Officer Jenny. The flight over the desert had been mostly silent, though this was mainly due to Ash being in no mood to talk since the incident with Trip. But eventually they landed near the site of the disturbance. The pilot stayed aboard the large white helicopter as Ash and the others disembarked. What they found after walking a few moments greatly startled them. A large chasm had formed in the desert, and in the center was a large ancient castle made out of sand-colored stone.

"I didn't know anything about a castle being here." A surprised Officer Jenny said to the others.

"It's probably been buried for years." Professor Juniper theorized. "It could be that the disturbance that scarred of the Venipede were attempts to excavate that castle."

"But who could've done this?" Gary wondered.

"You pansies better get out of our way now!" a harsh female voice ordered in response to Gary's question.

"It is you thieves who are not welcome here!" another female voice shot back. "Leave now, or else suffer our wrath!"

Ash and the others promptly went over to find out who was arguing. What they found were three people in Team Plasma uniforms, two men and one woman, who seemed to be leading the group, confronting three other people. They were two men and one woman with short green hair. This group was wearing black uniforms and caps, and on the front of each of their shirts was a large letter R.

"Three of those people are with Team Plasma," Officer Jenny observed, "but I don't know who the other three are."

"They're with Team Rocket." Ash informed her. "I should've guessed those scumbags had something to do with this."

"So what do we do then?" Professor Juniper asked.

"It's probably better if we just waited here until they left." Officer Jenny recommended. But suddenly Ash began calmly walking towards the feuding Rocket and Plasma agents with Pikachu and Lucario. Misty quickly followed after them. "Hey, wait a minute!"

"Hey!" Ash called, interrupting the two rival groups.

"Oh great! This is the last thing we need right now!" the female Team Rocket agent groaned. "You punks better get out of here, or else we'll give you the same treatment as these Team Plasma wimps!"

"Go Ho-Oh!" Ash responded as he threw out a Pokeball.

"Go Suicune!" Misty called as she threw out a Pokeball of her own. Both Legendary Pokemon emerged from their balls to face the six evil agents.

"What the hell? How did a couple of punks like these two get a hold of Pokemon like that?" one of the two male Team Rocket agents exclaimed.

"Aw crud! We gotta get out of here!" the female Team Rocket agent told her to subordinates.

"But how come?" the second male agent of Team Rocket asked. "Shouldn't we try and steal those two Pokemon?"

"Look, a few years ago there was this mission in Johto that got scrubbed when some kid caught Ho-Oh." the female Team Rocket explained. "Since then the boss has ordered that we stay away from him. Why, I don't know. But an order's an order, so let's scram!"

The other two Team Rocket agents shrugged and followed their leader. Meanwhile the female Team Plasma agent walked up to Ash.

"You're Ash Ketchum, right?" the female Team Plasma agent asked.

"How do you know that?" Ash asked with a suspicious look.

"That is not important." The female Team Plasma agent replied. "All that you must know is that for the moment our leader has ordered us not to interfere with you and your friends."

"Are you guys responsible for scaring the Venipede from their homes?" Ash asked.

"We have been trying to excavate the castle you see before you, but only using means that would not disturb the Pokemon living here." The Plasma admitted. "It was Team Rocket that was responsible for the Venipede swarm that invaded Castelia City. In their greed to get to the castle they used explosives."

"So what's in that castle that both you and Team Rocket are after?" Misty asked.

"I'm not at liberty to say." The Plasma agent replied. "But if you wish to enter the castle we will not stop you. Just be aware that it will be dangerous, as we are right now engaged in battle with Team Rocket."

With that, the three members of Team Plasma walked of. Ash and Misty then called back Ho-Oh and Suicune and were soon joined by Professor Juniper and the others.

"What the heck was that about?" Gary wondered. "Why'd both Team Rocket and Team Plasma run away from you guys?"

"Maybe they're just afraid to face Ho-Oh and Suicune." Chili theorized.

"We won't find anything out just standing here." Ash pointed out. "Let's get into that castle."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ghetsis of Team Plasma was walking through an almost cavernous corridor deep within the castle with an irritated scowl on his face. He did not at all like that Team Rocket had decided to meddle in the affairs of his organization, though he had to admit that their excavation of the castle did work in his favor. Ghetsis stopped walking when he heard a low growling noise up ahead. Emerging from the dark was a large cream-colored cat with black ears and a red gem in the center of its forehead.

"Interesting, I certainly didn't expect to see a Persian in these parts." Ghetsis commented. "Though I'm sure that it's not wild."

"You assume correctly." A voice said from the darkness. Giovanni stepped out and stood next to Persian. "I am Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket."

"I see. I am Ghetsis, leader of the Seven Sages of Team Plasma." Ghetsis introduced. "Now do yourself a favor and leave. And take your legion of Team Rocket thieves with you."

"I'm afraid we can't leave until we get what we came here for." Giovanni told him.

"And just what is it that you're after?" Ghetsis inquired.

"You tell me." Giovanni replied. "You and your organization seem to be interested in whatever is in this castle. And whatever it is, I intend to take it for myself."

"Is that so." Ghetsis said with an amused expression. "You don't even know what we of Team Plasma is after, and yet you think it's something powerful and can't wait to lay your hands on it. That's the type of response that I would expect from a thief."

""Well then, perhaps you'd be willing to share just what Team Plasma is after here in this old ruin." Giovanni suggested.

"I'm afraid it doesn't matter, as we will soon have what we came here for." Ghetsis revealed. "Though I really should thank you for making it far easier for my organization to acquire the item in question. The leader of Team Plasma didn't approve of you methods because they disturbed the wild Pokemon living beneath the ground. But I couldn't be happier. Now, I'll give you one more chance to leave quietly and take your organization with you."

"I told you before that we're not leaving until we get what we came for." Giovanni told him.

"Very well then." Ghetsis said with a fiendish grin as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Come forth Hydreigon!"

Emerging from Ghetsis's thrown ball was a three-headed dragon that was black with a blue underside. It had six black wings that looked a bit like strips of tattered cloth. All three of its faces were blue, and around each of its necks were what could be described as fuchsia-colored flower petals. Its legs looked as if they had decayed and receded into simple stocks.

"An interesting challenge." Giovanni said with a confident smirk as he pulled out a Pokeball of his own. "Go Nidoking!"

Emerging from Giovanni's thrown ball was a large purple creature with a white chest and belly that almost looked like a cross between a gorilla and a rhino. It had large ears like a mouse or rabbit that were green on the inside, and a long horn adorned its forehead. Its back was covered in spines and it had a thick long tail.

"A powerful looking Pokemon indeed." Ghetsis commented. "But I'm afraid that this battle will not go your way."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ash and the others had entered the large ruined castle. Upon entering the castle the saw carved into the wall a large relief of a dragon with well-developed muscular arms and a tail that looked like an engine turbine. Professor Juniper approached the relief with an expression of awe.

"I don't believe it." Professor Juniper said as she continued to look at the carving. "This has to be the castle of the Black Hero.'

"Black Hero?" Misty repeated.

"It has to do with the legend of how the Unova Region came to be." Professor Juniper explained. "Long ago, the kingdom of Unova was founded by two brothers who were both served by a powerful Dragon Pokemon. But the two brothers began to fight, and their conflict was so great that it caused the dragon that served them to split into two new dragons. One became the white dragon, Reshiram, who was the embodiment of truth and served the older of the two brothers. The other half became the black dragon, Zekrom, who was the embodiment of ideals and served the younger brother. A war broke out between the two brothers, and in the end neither side won. And the two dragons simply disappeared."

"So I'm guessing that this castle belonged to the younger of the two brothers in the legend." Gary deduced.

"That's right." Professor Juniper confirmed. "But I don't know why both Team Rocket and Team Plasma would be interested in this place."

"There must be something here that both groups want." Ash assumed. "And whatever it is, we can't let either of them have it."

* * *

Back in the deeper part of the castle, the battle between Giovanni and Ghetsis was just getting started. And so far it looked as though Ghetsis had the advantage.

"Nidoking, use Ice Beam!" Giovanni commanded.

"Dodge and use Surf!" Ghetsis ordered.

Nidoking opened his mouth and fired a bolt of white light at Hydreigon. But the three-headed dragon managed to move out of the way, causing the beam to hit the wall behind it and a patch of ice to form. Hydreigon then roared and glowed with a blue light, and suddenly a large wave of water appeared from nowhere and hit Nidoking and knocked the horned Pokemon back a ways. Nidoking was left breathing heavily after the attack.

"It seems that you're at a bigger disadvantage than you thought." Ghetsis taunted.

"We'll see about that!" Giovanni declared. "Nidoking, use Poison Jab!"

Nidoking began to charge at top speed at Hydreigon, and as it did its horn began to glow with a purple light. The horned Pokemon managed to stab Hydreigon in the chest with his horn. After the attack, the three-headed dragon seemed to be looking ill.

"Now who's at a disadvantage?" Giovanni said with an arrogant sneer.

"A valiant effort my friend, but I'm afraid that you are still no match for me." Ghetsis said confidently. "Dragon Pulse!" Hydreigon raised its middle head and shot a bluish-green head at Nidoking, knocking the horned Pokemon back. "Now finish with Surf!"

Hydreigon roared and glowed with a blue light as it did once before. And just as before a wave of water suddenly came from nowhere and hit Nidoking with incredible force. When the attack had ended, Nidoking was on his side out cold.

"It seems that this battle has been decided." Ghetsis declared. Just then the large collar of Ghetsis's robes buzzed. Ghetsis pressed one of the blue gems on the collar. "Go ahead."

"Sage Ghetsis, we have the tablet and are on our way to the base." A voice reported through the intercom that seemed to be built into Ghetsis's robes. "And so far there has been no sign of anyone from Team Rocket following us."

"Excellent work." Ghetsis replied. "Now we are a major step closer to achieving our noble cause." Ghetsis then tapped the gem on his collar again. "Well my friend, it seems that you have come all this way for nothing. What you just heard was the voice of one of my subordinates telling me that we have gotten what we came here for."

"How do I know that wasn't staged for my benefit?" Giovanni pointed out.

"Come now good sir, while I am something of an actor, do you really think that I could stage something like that on such short notice?" Ghetsis asked. "Besides, by now your forces should starting to notice that mine are withdrawing as we speak."

"I see. Well I guess this truly is a defeat for me." Giovanni said as he called back Nidoking. "But you had better hope that we do not cross paths again." With that, Giovanni began to walk off with Persian.

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you." Ghetsis said with an evil grin.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash and the others were making their way through the ruined castle. But they stopped when they heard footsteps from up ahead. Both Pikachu and Lucario tensed up. Stepping into the moonlight through one of the castle window on their left was Giovanni and his Persian. Giovanni and Persian stopped when he saw Ash and the others.

"Well, this is certainly unexpected." Giovanni commented.

"You're the leader of Team Rocket, right?" Ash recalled.

"That's right." Giovanni confirmed. "And I don't think I told you my name the last time we met. I am Giovanni."

"Well I'm in no mood to battle you, so get lost!" Ash told him.

"You're in luck, because I have no wish to fight you." Giovanni revealed. "In fact I have ordered everyone in Team Rocket to stay away from you for the time being."

"And why is that?" Ash asked.

"…You will find out in time." Giovanni said after a moment. "That is if the vision from Ho-Oh three years ago was true."

Ash was surprised that Giovanni knew of the vision he and Pikachu had received from Ho-Oh not long after he captured the great bird. It was a vision of Ash preparing to face off against a young man with red hair leading an army of Team Rocket agents. What surprised Ash most was that Giovanni had seen the vision as well.

"What do you know about that?" Ash asked, narrowing his eyes at Giovanni.

"Only that I hope that vision does not come to pass." Giovanni answered. "In any case, I will be taking my forces out of here now. It seems that Team Plasma has already gotten what they came here for. Which means it is pointless for me to stay. Hope that our paths don't cross again."

"Hold it!" Officer Jenny cut in. "Giovanni, was it? I'm afraid you'll have to come with me. I'm placing you under arrest."

"It seems that the Officer Jennys here in Unova are just as inept as the ones back home." Giovanni commented with an amused smirk.

Suddenly a purple ball covered with lumps floated through the castle window. It had two eyes and a mouth, along with a skull and crossbones-like symbol on what could be considered a chest.

"A Koffing!" Gary exclaimed.

Suddenly the Koffing exploded with a flash of light forcing Ash and the others to shield their eyes. When the light and smoke finally cleared, Giovanni and his Persian were nowhere to be found.

* * *

Hours later the morning sun had begun to climb over the horizon. Both Team Rocket and Team Plasma had long since vanished from the site. After searching the castle as best they could, Ash and the other had finally gone back to their waiting helicopter.

"I'm going to call my father and ask him to check the castle out." Professor Juniper informed the others. "He's an expert on ancient ruins here in Unova. Hopefully he'll be able to figure out just what Team Plasma made off with."

"Well then, I guess all that's left for me here is my next gym battle." Ash said with a shrug.

"Then I guess we should head back to the city then." Officer Jenny suggested. The other nodded in agreement, and with that they entered the helicopter and took off back for Castelia City.

Some time later in a remote castle in the Unova Region, Ghetsis entered a large room filled with various pieces of computer equipment being manned by scientists. In the center of the room was a large tablet made of black stone. Engraved on the front of the tablet were several lines of text written in an ancient language.

"How long until the translation is finished?" Ghetsis asked one of the scientists in the room as he walked up and placed his hand on the front of the tablet.

"I'm afraid it's going to be awhile sir." One of the scientists reported. "We've barely gotten through the first line of text. Our best estimate is that it'll be a few months at least."

"Well, I suppose we'll just have to wait a little longer than." Ghetsis replied. "But it won't be long until this tablet reveals to us the location of the fabled Dark Stone. Then we will finally be able to carry out the ideals of Team Plasma."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'm sure many of you reading have figured out just which dragon Team Plasma is after in this story. The reason why it's that dragon and not the other is because I've sort of written myself into a corner in my earlier story, Fire for Ice. Incidentally, I probably won't be updating this story as I have been, but we'll see. Right now I'm under a little bit of stress. Plus I've been preparing to do another story on the side. But we'll see how things go. At the very least I'll be updating this story once a week as I had originally planed. Anyway, the third gym battle is up next, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	15. Fire Bug

**Author's Note:** Sorry for not updating at all last week. I was under a lot of stress and decided to deal with it by working on a completely different story. Plus I felt like I needed a short break from Pokemon. I've been working on this project for almost six months now. I'm back now though, but for the moment this story will only be updated once a week as originally planned. Anyway, in the last guest review I got, I was asked if I planed to bring in any of Ash's classic Pokemon like Charizard. I hadn't planned to, but I may once this story gets to the Pokemon League.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 14: Fire Bug

At least two and a half days had gone by since the incident with the Venipede and Ash's encounter with Team Rocket and Team Plasma. Right after those incidents, Burgh went to return the Venipede swarm to their home, causing Ash's gym battle with him to be delayed. So Ash and his friends of course stayed in Castelia City to await Burgh's return. But Ash had wisely been using that time to train in preparation for his coming battle. That particular day, Ash and the others had gone to the park in the middle of the city. Ash and Chili were facing each other in battle using Larvesta and Tepig, and at that moment both Pokemon were staring each other down as Misty watched from the bench.

"Okay Larvesta, use Flame Charge!" Ash commanded.

"You use Flame Charge too Tepig!" Chili ordered.

On cue, Larvesta took off like a rocket at Tepig, her body becoming completely shrouded in flames. At the same time, a flame-covered Tepig began charging as well. Both Pokemon rammed into each other with such force that it created a pillar of flames about twenty feet tall. The fire lasted for about five minutes, showing only minuet changes in its position. When the flames finally cleared, both Pokemon were still standing, but the deep marks in the ground made by Tepig's hooves showed that the fire pig had been forced back quite a ways.

"Okay, it looks like five feet this time." Ash said with a satisfied smirk. "Looks like we're ready now. Thanks for the help with training Larvesta to use Flame Charge Chili."

"No problem." Chili said gladly. "So I guess all that's left is to wait for Burgh to come back to the back to the gym."

"Well, Nurse Joy told us this morning that he should be coming back this afternoon. So we shouldn't have a long wait." Ash pointed out.

"It seems like you and your friends have been busy Ash." A voice commented.

Ash and the others looked and saw N standing nearby. Standing next to the mysterious trainer's feet was a Venipede. Larvesta noticed and skittered over to talk to her fellow insect Pokemon. Venipede met Larvesta half way and the two Pokemon began to chat.

"Hey N." a surprised Ash greeted. "What're you still doing in this city?"

"Well, I don't have any major business to attend to at the moment, so I decided to stick around here for a while." N explained. "I hope you don't mind me dropping by like this."

"Not at all." Ash replied. "Chili was just helping me train for my next gym battle."

"So you're Ash new friend, huh?" Misty observed as she walked over. "I'm Misty, Ash's girlfriend."

"Delighted to meet you." N greeted back. At that moment, a small ice cream cart pulled up on the nearby sidewalk.

"Oh hey, a Castelia Cone Cart." Chili observed. "Why don't we get a few since it's here."

"Good idea." Ash agreed. "You want one Misty?"

"You bet." Misty replied.

"I think I'll have one too." N spoke up.

"Okay, Chili and I will be right back." Ash told them.

With that, Ash and Chili walked off with Pikachu, Lucario, and Tepig. Misty and N meanwhile went back over to sit on the bench while Larvesta and Venipede went over to a nearby tree.

"I have a confession to make Misty." N admitted to her after they sat down. "The real reason I stayed here in the city is because I've been a little concerned about Ash. I admire him for defending those Venipede from those trainers, but he seemed to go a little overboard."

"Yeah, he had a little bit of a freak out back there. But… considering what happened to him two years ago I can understand why a little." Misty said with a sad expression.

"What happened?" N inquired.

"Well… I'm not sure if I should tell you." Misty said hesitantly. "Can this just stay between us?"

"Of course, I promise I won't say a word." N assured her.

"…About two years ago, a man forced Ash to watch as he tortured three Pokemon." Misty finally explained. "Ash only told me about it after the thing with the Venipede."

"I see…" N said looking both sad and appalled. "What sort of monster would torture Pokemon?"

"A real psycho. You ever hear of a group called Team Galactic?" Misty asked.

"I do know a little about them actually. Why?" N replied.

"The man who tortured those Pokemon was their leader, Cyrus." Misty explained. "And Ash has never been quite the same since he faced him. He stopped traveling for two years until this trip to Unova."

"That incident must've traumatized him greatly." N noted. "I could tell by meeting Ash for the first time that he cares deeply for Pokemon."

"Yeah, to tell the truth the whole reason I started traveling with Ash in the first place was because I'd never met someone who loved Pokemon as much as he does." Misty admitted. At that moment, Ash and Chili returned with Castelia Cones in hand.

"Sorry we took so long." Ash said as he handed one of the cones to Misty. "That vender was telling us that he heard Burgh's back in town. How 'bout we finish these cones and head over to the gym?"

"Sounds good to me." Misty agreed.

"If you don't mind Ash, I'd like to tag along." N requested.

"Sure, but I thought you didn't like Pokemon battles." Ash replied.

"True, but I would like to give you my support." N told him.

"Okay then, we'll all go." Ash said with enthusiasm.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash and the others had arrived at the gym. When they walked inside they found themselves surrounded by several tall trees. It almost felt to Ash, Misty, and Chili that they were back in Pinwheel Forest. But upon looking up they all saw the glass ceiling and realized that they were actually in a large greenhouse. They did not travel far into this artificial forest before Burgh jumped down from one of the trees.

"I was expecting you to come Ash." Burgh greeted.

"I think you can guess why." Ash replied.

"You sure have a lot of trees in here Burgh." Chili commented.

"Yes, I put them in here so that the Bug Pokemon would feel at home." Burgh explained.

"Bug Pokemon?" Misty repeated, her face going a bit pale.

"Well of course." Burgh replied. "Surly you figured out before that I'm a specialist in Bug-types."

"Yeah, but I was kinda hoping you weren't." Misty admitted. "Just how many Bug Pokemon do you have in here?"

"Why several, and I'm sure they're all watching us right now." Burgh answered, completely oblivious to Misty's dislike of bugs. "Now Ash, are you in the mood to battle?"

"You bet!" Ash said enthusiastically.

"Then I look forward to seeing just what Pokemon you plan to use against me." Burgh said before snapping his fingers.

A large section of the floor then split apart, and from the hole came a large dirt-covered battlefield. Ash and Burgh then took their positions on the field, and in moments a malereferee with brown hair wearing a green shirt walked out and stood on the side. Misty, Chili, and N took a spot behind Ash to watch, along with Pikachu, Lucario, and Venipede.

"This match will be a three-on-three battle!" the referee announced. "Only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokemon! Let the battle… begin!"

"Since I'm the gym leader, I think I'll bring out my Pokemon first. Go Dwebble!" Burgh called as he threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was an orange almost crab-like creature with large black eyes and large front legs. The end of both legs was tipped with a long spike. And on its back was a large rock that greatly resembled a seashell.

"Okay then. Go Snivy!" Ash called out. Snivy emerged from her ball and stood on the battlefield with her usual confident expression.

"I'm not sure if this'll go well." Chili commented on the sidelines. "Dwebble's may be a Rock-type, but it's also a Bug. Normally a Grass Pokemon like Snivy wouldn't do well."

"True, this equation does not look favorable." N agreed. "But with Ash involved I feel there's an uncertainty factor that might lead to a surprising outcome."

"Don't worry, Ash does this sort of thing a lot." Misty assured them.

"Snivy, attack Dwebble with Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.

"Dwebble, use Protect!" Burgh ordered. Just as Snivy launched her whips at Dwebble, a barrier of bluish-green light formed around the Bug Pokemon, causing the whips to bounce harmlessly away. "Now attack with X-Scissor!"

Dwebble jumped into the air higher than one might expect and came right at Snivy. Once it got in close enough, Dwebble slashed at the grass lizard with the two spikes on its front legs, creating a pair of blue energy blades that formed an X-shape. Snivy was hit in the chest and fell to the ground. But after a moment she recovered and got back to her feet.

"I hope this works. Snivy, use Attract!" Ash commanded.

Snivy gave Dwebble a seductive wink with her right eye, and from that eye came a heart-shaped ball of pink energy. The heart shape hit Dwebble in the face and in an instant the hermit Pokemon was love struck.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect that." Burgh commented.

"Now use Sweet Scent!" Ash ordered. Snivy glowed briefly with a pink aura and in moments the battlefield was filled with a pink mist with a very pleasing aroma. The mist made Dwebble look more relaxed. "Okay, use Vine Whip again!"

With a satisfied smirk, Snivy thrust her whips at the enthralled Dwebble and began to strike. As Dwebble was hit again and again, he looked as though he had an expression of ecstasy on his face. This went on for a few moments until Dwebble fell to his side unconscious.

"Dwebble is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The first round goes to Ash and Snivy!"

"That was a… unique battle." Burgh said as he called Dwebble back to his ball.

"So wrong." Misty said to herself on the sidelines. "So wrong."

"This battle is far from over though." Burgh continued. "Go Whilipede!"

Emerging from the ball was a creature that looked like a cross between a wheel and a curled-up centipede. It was mainly grayish-purple in color, and had red circles on each section of its back. Jutting out on the front at an upward diagonal angle was a pair of long spikes, each with two black stripes. There was a similar pair on the insect's backside, but they were pointing down rather than up. The Pokemon's yellow eyes were visible on the sides of its body. Ash got out his Pokedex to get a better look at the creature.

"Whilipede, the Curlipede Pokemon, and the evolved form of Venipede." The Pokedex identified. "This Pokemon's body is protected by a hard outer shell and attacks by rolling its body like a wheel to crash into enemies at high speed."

"Alright Whirlipede, let's show Ash just how brightly your pure heart burns!" Burgh called to the Bug Pokemon. Whirlipede responded by spinning in place at a high speed. "Steamroller!"

On command, Whirlipede took off at high speed towards Snivy. Snivy tried to jump out of the way, but Whirlipede proved too fast and ran the grass lizard into the ground. When it was over, Snivy was on her stomach out cold.

"Snivy is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The second round goes to Burgh and Whirlipede!"

"This is looking real bad." Chili commented on the sidelines while Ash called Snivy back to her ball.

"The obvious solution would be for Ash to use Lucario." N noted. "But somehow I doubt that Ash will do something that predictable."

"Go Larvesta!" Ash called out. Larvesta emerged from her thrown ball to face Whirlipede.

"Amazing! I certainly didn't expect you to have a Larvesta." Burgh said with a slight expression of awe. "They're one of the rarest and most magnificent Bug Pokemon out there. This is shaping up to be a magnificent battle."

"I was thinking the same thing." Ash agreed.

"Alright then, Whirlipede, attack with Poison Sting!" Burgh commanded.

"Dodge and use Ember!" Ash ordered.

Whirlipede span in place and fired a barrage of glowing purple needles at Larvesta. But the fire larva skittered out of the way with surprising speed. She then came at Whirlipede from the side and fired a barrage of fiery bullets from her horns. Whirlipede nearly toppled over from the attack, but quickly recovered and turned to face Larvesta.

"Whirlipede, attack with Steamroller!" Burgh commanded.

"Larvesta, attack head on with Flame Charge!" Ash ordered.

As soon as Whilipede began to spin towards Larvesta, the fire larva took off at Whirlipede like a missile, her body becoming covered in fire as she did so. The Bug Pokemon impacted, and Whirlipede was suddenly hurled into the air by the force of the impact.

"Such power." Burgh said with awe.

"Okay Larvesta, use Flame Charge once more!" Ash commanded.

While Whirlipede was still in the air, Larvesta curved around and charged at where the wheel Pokemon was going to land. And just as Whirlipede was about to hit the ground it collided with Larvesta's flame-covered body and hurled into the air again. Whirlipede flipped several feet into the air like a coin and landed on the ground on its side. The wheel Pokemon was out cold when it landed.

"Whirlipede is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Larvesta!"

"That was simply outstanding." Burgh commented as he called Whirlipede back to its ball. "Truly the pure hearts of both you and Larvesta are burning brightly together. But I want to see just how bright. Come to me Leavanny!"

Suddenly jumping out from one of the bushes in the gym onto the battlefield was an over three-foot tall slender humanoid insect creature. It was mainly yellow, but had bladed arms that resembled leaves. Adorning the back of the bug's head was a sort of collar made from a large leaf, and over its rear were more leaves that made it look as though it was wearing a coat. Atop the creature's head were two long antennas that were yellow like its head, and its torso and legs were dark-green. Ash got out his Pokedex again to get a better look.

"Leavanny, the Nurturing Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "This Pokemon makes clothing from leaves for the small Pokemon it finds."

"Leavanny is the guardian of this gym, and my closest partner." Burgh explained. "Defeating us won't be easy."

"I'd be pretty disappointed if you were." Ash replied.

"How interesting." N commented.

"What is it N?" Misty asked.

"It's just… I never expected Burgh to have a strong bond with any of his Pokemon." N explained. "Yet his bond with Leavanny seems to be as strong as the bonds Ash has with his Pokemon."

"Okay Larvesta, attack with Ember!" Ash commanded.

"Dodge!" Burgh ordered. Larvesta fired another hail of flaming bullets at Leavanny, but the leaf mantis simply stepped out of the way before they could hit. Ash and the others were greatly surprised. "Now charge and use X-Scissor!"

At an incredible speed, Leavanny dashed at Larvesta and struck her with its bladed arms, creating an X-shape out of blue light. Larvesta was knocked into the air and landed several feet away. The fire larva quickly recovered from the attack, however.

"Use String Shot!" Both Ash and Burgh commanded together. Larvesta and Leavanny both spit out silk threads at each other. Leavanny's thread caught Larvesta on her back, while Larvesta's thread stuck to Leavanny's left shoulder.

"That's certainly unexpected." N commented.

"Well, I guess this means they can't really dodge each other." Chili pointed out.

"Okay Leavanny, use Leaf Storm!" Burgh ordered.

"Larvesta, go right in there and use Flame Charge!" Ash commanded.

Leavanny glowed with a green aura and a tidal wave of green leaves appeared and rushed towards Larvesta. But Larvesta took off again, once again shrouding herself in flames, and burned a hole right through the storm. The fire larva hit Leavanny in the chest. Both threads tethering the two Pokemon together broke and Leavanny was forced back almost off the battlefield. Leavanny stood panting for a moment but soon fell to the ground on its face.

"Leavanny is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The final round and the match go to Ash and Larvesta!" The referee's call caused Misty, Chili, Pikachu, and Lucario to cheer.

"Well done Ash." Burgh said as he walked up to Ash and pulled a gym badge out of his pocket. "The hearts of you and your Pokemon truly do burn as one. So as proof of your victory, I'm proud to present you with the Insect Badge."

"Awesome, thanks." Ash said as he took the badge from Burgh and put it in his badge case.

"If you haven't decided where you're going for your next badge, the gym in Nimbasa City is the closest." Burgh suggested.

"Thanks for the tip. I guess we'll head there next." Ash replied. "This really was an awesome battle."

"I feel the same way. It's an honor to have faced you Ash." Burgh said as both he and Ash shook hands.

* * *

Moments later, Ash and the others were back outside the gym. Chili got out his map to try and find the quickest way to the next city.

"Hey Chili, before you get carried away with that, we should get to the Pokemon Center." Ash pointed out. "Snivy and Larvesta got pretty banged up you know."

"Oh yeah, good point." Chili said as he folded the map back up.

"Well, I'm afraid this is where we must part for now Ash." N suddenly spoke. "I have other things I have to attend to."

"You sure you can't stay longer?" Ash asked, looking a bit disappointed.

"I'm afraid not. But I'm at least glad to see that you seem to be doing okay." N replied. "I confess I stayed because I was a little worried about you after what happened during the Venipede incident."

"Well I'm all right now." Ash assured him. "And I'm glad you came to watch my battle, even though you don't like that kind of thing."

"It was certainly an interesting experience." N noted. "From what I could see, both your Pokemon and Burgh's greatly enjoyed battling. I never thought I'd see anything like that. Anyway, I hope we meet again Ash."

"Same here." Ash agreed, and with that N walked off with Venipede while Ash and the others went off to the Pokemon Center.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Well, now that gym number three is done, the real fun can begin. It's going to be kind of a long road to Nimbasa City in this story, but it should be an enjoyable one. In the next chapter, a rivalry continues.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	16. Frillish, Pink and Blue

**Author's Note:** Those of you reading who have actually seen the Black and White anime might remember that after Ash's Castelia Gym Battle, there was an episode where Team Rocket had staged a fake fishing contest to steal Pokemon. Back when I was deciding which episodes to adapt into chapters for this story and which not to, I had initially decided to just skip that episode. But then I realized that I was doing a story involving Misty, so I kept the episode but made some major changes. This is the result.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 15: Frillish, Pink and Blue

It had only been about an hour since Ash's battle with Burgh. And after paying a final visit to the city's Pokemon Center, Ash and his friends began their journey to Nimbasa City. Or at least they had been attempting to, for Chili had been to figure out the best route to get there. Since that time the group had been wandering the city until they came next to an enclosed river that seemed to be running through the center of the town. The group had decided to stop by that river until Chili could settle on a route.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go get a drink from that fountain we saw back there." Misty informed the others. "I'll be right back."

"Okay." Ash said to her before she walked off. He then turned his attention back to Chili, who still had his nose buried in his map. "C'mon Chili, can't you pick a route already?"

"There are just so many choices." Chili told him. "I've been trying to pick the route that's the shortest, but any way you slice it, it looks like it's gonna be a long trip."

"Well, I'm in no hurry to get there." Ash reminded him. Suddenly Pikachu's ears perked up to something, prompting the electric rodent to quickly hope off Ash's shoulder. "Something wrong Pikachu?"

Ash's question was answered when he looked ahead and saw something barreling towards him at a high speed leaving a huge dust trail. And the thing in question was a familiar blonde girl in a green hat.

"Outta the way! Outta the way! OUTTA THE WAY!" Bianca called as she rushed towards Ash and Chili.

Then in the space of seconds, Bianca tripped, fell forward, and toppled Ash to the ground. And just like in their first encounter, Bianca was on top of Ash, their faces quite close to each other. Misty returned to the others right on time to see the rather compromising position Ash and Bianca were in. An expression of cold, murderous rage came to Misty's face and her hands balled into fists. She stormed over and Kicked Bianca off of Ash, knocking her down into the river. After that, Misty yanked Ash back to his feet by the collar of his shirt.

"Hey! That wasn't nice Misty!" Bianca said as she tried getting to her feet, only to slip and fall back into the water again.

"What are you doing here Bianca?" Misty demanded to know.

"Uh Misty…" Ash began to speak.

"Shut up!" Misty snapped.

"Okay." Ash quickly replied, instantly backing down.

"If you must know, I was on my way to the Castelia Fishing Competition." Bianca answered as she finally got to her feet and started walking up out of the river.

"Fishing competition?" Misty repeated, her expression softening a bit.

"That's right." Bianca confirmed after finally getting back on dry land and wringing the water out of her hat. "They say it's held every year. The person who catches the best Water Pokemon wins a huge prize. And they say this year's prize is a total mystery."

"A mystery prize and a chance to catch some new Water Pokemon. There's no way I'm going to pass that up!" Misty declared. "I'm entering the competition too!"

"You're going to enter?" Bianca said with a look of surprise.

"Yeah, and I'm gonna blow you out of the water!" Misty confirmed.

"Dream on!" Bianca declared before storming off to where the competition was happening.

"C'mon Ash!" Misty said as she grabbed Ash by the arm and yanked him off to go after Bianca. Pikachu, Lucario, and Chili all let out a huge sigh and walked after them.

* * *

Only a few minutes later, Ash and the others came to a spot along the river where several people had already gathered. Many of these people seemed to be clustered together, talking amongst themselves as if waiting for something. But there were a few that were lined up at a small table. It quickly became clear that the table was the sign-up spot for the competition. Misty and Bianca got in line, though it was sort of a race to see who would go before whom. And Bianca had managed to get in line before Misty, much to Misty's annoyance.

But it was not a very long line; there were only three people in it before Bianca and Misty. And in only a few moments Bianca's turn up front came. The person sitting at the table was a slightly overweight man who looked to be in his late fifties wearing glasses, an old hat with fish hooks in it, a grey fishing vest, and a white t-shirt with the phrase, "Fish for life," written in black letters.

"Have you come to enter young lady?" the man at the table asked.

"Yep." Bianca confirmed. "The name's Bianca. Are you the one running the competition?"

"That I am." The man confirmed. "They call me Fisher Jake. And I've been holding these little contests for twenty-five years now. Now then, which Pokemon are you planning to use?"

"I can only use one?" Bianca asked.

"Those are the rules." Fisher Jake confirmed.

"Well that's okay, because I have the perfect one. Come out Minccino!" Bianca called as she threw out a Pokeball. Minccino emerged and landed on the table.

"Okay then." Fisher Jake said as he jotted something down on the clipboard he had on the table. He then reached under the table and produced two items, a Pokeball with a fishing net pattern on top and a bottle containing some sort of green liquid. "Here's your Net Ball and a complimentary bottle of _Nature's Brew_, my son Greg's new health drink. If you need a rod, you can get one outta my truck over there. Otherwise, please go and wait with the others."

"Thank you." Bianca said with a quick bow before rushing off with Minccino over to the white pickup truck Fisher Jack had indicated before. Misty then moved up to the table.

"Well young lady, looks like you've landed yourself the very last spot in the competition." Fisher Jake told her. "Name please?"

"Misty." The redheaded Water Pokemon Trianer replied.

"Alright, and the Pokemon you'll be using?" Fisher Jake asked. As if on cue, Dewott emerged from his ball and kneeled before Misty.

"I guess I'll be using Dewott." Misty informed Fisher Jake. Fisher Jake jotted the information down on his clipboard.

"Okay, here's your Net ball and complimentary bottle of _Nature's Brew_." Fisher Jake said after pulling out two more of the same items he had given Bianca from under the table. "If you don't have a rod, you can get one out of my truck. Otherwise go wait with the others. I'll start the competition in about five minutes."

"Thank you." Misty said before taking the items and going with Dewott to where the other competitors had gathered. Ash and Chili quickly followed after them.

"I get the special Pokeballs, but what's with that drink?" Ash wondered.

"Fisher Jake said that stuff was made by his son." Chili noted. "He could be just trying to create some publicity for it."

"I wonder if it's any good?" Misty said before taking a swig. Right away she violently spit the green liquid out onto the ground. "Oh god! It tastes like something a Muk and a Garbordor took a bath in!"

"Really?" Ash asked. Misty gave him the bottle to taste for himself. He spat the liquid back out almost as soon as he took some in. "Aw man, that is nasty!"

"Mind if I give it a try?" Chili asked.

"Your funeral I guess." Ash said as he handed Chili the bottle. Chili drank some of the liquid and swished it around in his mouth. Then to Ash and Misty's utter shock, Chili actually swallowed it.

"Actually this isn't bad." Chili told them. "It's a little bitter, kinda tangy, and leaves kind of an after bite. But it's still a fairly decent drink. I wonder what's in this stuff?"

"Are you serious?" a very shocked Ash asked. "Is your tongue blind or something?"

"I guess I just have a broader pallet than you guys." Chili said with a shrug.

At that moment Bianca returned with Minccino and a borrowed fishing rod. Just then Fisher Jake walked onto a small wooden stage with a microphone on it. He tapped into the microphone to get everyone's attention.

"Hello, and welcome to the twenty-fifth annual Castelia City Fishing Competition." Fisher Jake announced. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Fisher Jake, Castelia City's number one fishing enthusiast. Now here's how this challenge is gonna work. Using only one Pokemon and the Net Ball you received when you entered, you each have to go out onto the river and catch the biggest and best Pokemon you can find in the next hour. If ya can't catch anything by then, you're out. And the winner for this year will receive a fabulous mystery prize. So get in your boats and cast your rods, because the competition starts… now!"

Immediately the people who had entered began to rush for the boats docked near the river. They were mainly wooden boats, though some looked a little more run down than others. Misty grabbed Ash and went for the first boat she saw. Pikachu, Lucario, and Dewott followed after them as fast as they could. Once they had gotten in, Ash rowed the boat away.

"Chili, you mind coming with me?" Bianca asked. "It'd be easier if I didn't have to row one of those boats by myself."

"No problem." Chili said gladly.

* * *

Almost half an hour had passed, and Misty and Ash's boat had stopped on a spot a fair ways down the river. Misty sat calmly at the head of the boat, waiting patiently as the line from her fishing rod dangled into the water. Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario sat in the middle of the boat meditating quietly. Meanwhile Dewott stood between them practicing his shell thrusts. It had been quiet the whole time since they began waiting in that spot, but suddenly Misty's line began to move. And the force of the creature on the other end almost pulled Misty out of the boat, but Ash quickly reacted and grabbed Misty before she could be flung into the water.

"You got it?" Ash asked her as he tried with all his strength.

"I think so." Misty said as she tried to reel it in, though it was clear that the creature was fighting back. In moments it began to pull the entire boat itself.

"Let's try pulling it out on three!" Misty suggested. "One… two… three!"

With a combined yank from both Misty and Ash the thing in the water was flung into the air by the fishing line. But rather than falling into the boat or back into the water, the Pokemon Misty had snagged floated in the air before them. It was a blue almost four-foot tall jellyfish-like creature. Its head was large and round and had a crown-shaped tuft on top. The eyes of the creature were red and around its neck was a wavy collar. Hanging beneath this head were five tentacles, two of which were positioned like arms. Ash got out his Pokedex to learn more about Misty's catch.

"Frillish, the Floating Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Once it had wrapped its tentacles around its prey, it drags it down to its home at the bottom of the ocean."

"Looks like you snagged a big one Misty." Ash observed.

"Okay Dewott, start off with Razor Shell!" Misty commanded. Dewott jumped into the air at Frillish, and as he did, blades of water extended from his two seashells. The otter Pokemon hit Frillish with a vertical slash from the blade of his right shell, followed by a horizontal slash from the left blade. But surprisingly the attack did not seem to do any damage. "What? Why didn't that work?"

"Oh crud!" Ash exclaimed while looking at the display screen on his Pokedex. "It says here that Frillish has an ability called Water Absorb. Water attacks aren't going to do any damage."

At that moment, a ball of purple flames formed above the palm of Frillish's right arm tentacle. The jellyfish Pokemon threw the ball at Dewott, hitting him in the chest and leaving a burn.

"Was that Will-o-wisp?" a surprised Misty asked. As soon as she did, Frillish brought his two arm tentacles together, and between them formed a ball of crackling black energy. Frillish threw the ball at Dewott, hitting the otter Pokemon in the face.

"That was definitely Shadow Ball." Ash observed.

Despite the damage he had taken, Dewott recovered from the attacks and leapt back into the air, twirling his shells in his paws. As he twirled the shells they began to glow with a bluish-green light. Then once Dewott got in close enough he hit Frillish with an X-shaped slash of blue-green light and seemed to cause damage.

"Whoa! I think Dewott just used X-Scissor!" Ash enthusiastically noted.

"Okay then, use X-Scissor again Dewott!" Misty commanded. Dewott made another jump at Frillish and hit him with another X-shaped slash. "One more time!" Misty ordered, and Dewott hit Frillish yet again. "Okay, go Net Ball!"

Misty's thrown Pokeball hit Frillish in the face and sucked him in. The ball dropped down into the water and floated as the red light on the front continued to blink. Misty and the other watched the ball anxiously, wondering if Frillish was going to break out. But at last the light stopped and the ball made the sound signaling the capture was complete. Dewott grabbed the ball and got back into the boat.

"I think we should head back now." Misty said as she took the ball. "Dewott got pretty banged up."

"Might as well." Ash agreed. "I don't think anyone's going to catch a Pokemon as good as that one."

* * *

Meanwhile on a spot on the opposite end of the river, Chili sat in the middle of Bianca's boat drinking what was his second bottle of Nature's Brew. It was originally the bottle Bianca had received when she entered the competition, but she had as great a dislike for the beverage as Ash and Misty. Bianca meanwhile was standing at the front of the boat with Minccino with her line dangling into the water. She stared at the spot where she had cast her line intently.

"Man, this is dull." Chili declared with a yawn. "I'm glad Fire Pokemon Trainers don't have to go through this to catch Pokemon."

Bianca did not respond to Chili's comment. In fact she did not have time, for in an instant something had grabbed onto the other end of the line and almost pulled Bianca into the water, causing her to scream. Chili however managed to grab Bianca before she fell in. But a new problem arose when whatever Bianca snagged began pulling with enough force to move the boat.

"You gotta reel it in!" Chili told her as the boat moved at an unbelievable speed.

"I'm trying!" Bianca told him as she tried cranking the reel. "It's… too strong!"

"We'll try pulling it out of the water then!" Chili decided. "On three! One… two… three!"

With one good yank, Bianca and Chili managed to fling what was on the other end of the line into the air, causing them to fall to the floor of the boat. What had been on the other end of the line floated in the air before them, a pink almost four foot tall jellyfish-like creature. It had a large head with a crown-shaped tuft on top. Its eyes were blue and around its neck was a fluffy collar. Dangling beneath it were five tentacles, two of which were positioned like arms. As soon as she got to her feet, Bianca got out her Pokedex to find out just what she caught.

"Frillish, the Floating Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "After paralyzing their prey with poison, they drag them to the ocean floor, never to be seen again."

"Wow. Okay Minccino, use Thunder Bolt!" Bianca commanded. Minccino let loose a bolt of yellow electricity at Frillish, but the pink jellyfish Pokemon simply moved out of the way. "What?"

Before anyone could react Frillish gave Minccino a seductive wink. And from that wink came a heart made of pink energy that hit Minccino in the face. In an instant, Minccino was love struck.

"Oh great, that Frillish knows Attract!" Chili observed. Frillish then opened her mouth and blasted Minccino with a stream of steaming hot water. "And that was Scald! I'm not sure if you can catch this one Bianca."

"Well I'm not giving up!" Bianca declared. "Minccino, shake it off and use Thunder Bolt again!"

Minccino shook his head and then sent forth another bolt of electricity. This time the attack actually hit Frillish, almost knocking her out of the air.

"Net Ball, go!" Bianca called as she threw out the Pokeball.

The ball hit Frillish in the face and fell to the water. Both Bianca and Chili watch intently as the red light of the ball blinked. But at last the light stopped and the two breathed a sigh of relief. Minccino swam out and grabbed the ball to bring it to his trainer.

"I think that's enough fishing for today." Bianca decided after getting the ball from Minccino. "Let's head back now."

"Good idea." Chili agreed. "Besides, I don't think anyone in this competition has a chance of getting a Pokemon as good as that one."

* * *

Another half-hour had passed, and the competitors who had managed to catch something had all gathered together for the judging. Most of the other competitors had captured green fish Pokemon known as Basculin. But Fisher Jake was judging each one individually based on its size and other various factors. At last he had come to Misty and Bianca.

"Well, so far it looks like this competition is going to be won by who has the biggest Basculin." Fisher Jake said to Misty. "Unless of course you managed to catch something a little more unique."

"I think so. Go Frillish!" Misty called as she threw out the ball. The blue Frillish emerged and floated before Fisher Jake.

"You caught a Frillish too Misty?" a surprised Chili interrupted.

"What do you mean 'too'?" Misty asked, not sure is she wanted to hear the answer.

"He means this. Come out Frillish!" Bianca called as she threw out her own ball. The pink Frillish emerged and floated before Fisher Jake next to Misty's blue Frillish.

"A pink one?" a surprised Ash observed.

"Yes, the female of the species." Fisher Jake noted. "Well, this narrows it down quite a bit. But I'm going to have to look both these Pokemon over."

"That airhead would have to catch one too." Misty said to herself through gritted teeth.

Fisher Jake then began measuring parts of both Frillish with a tape measurer and writing down the measurements on his clipboard. After looking over the results he seemed to finally come to a decision.

"Well, after comparing the lengths of the tentacles, and the sizes of the crowns and the collars, I've come to a decision." Fisher Jake announced. "It's a draw. But there can be only one winner. So we'll have to decide with a battle between both Frillish."

After a few moments Misty and Bianca had moved to face each other with their respective Frillish. Fisher Jake had move to the side to referee the battle. While all the others had gathered to watch.

"Let the battle… begin!" Fisher Jake declared.

"Okay Frillish, use Scald!" Bianca commanded. The pink Frillish sprayed Misty's blue one with a powerful stream of steaming hot water. But when the attack had ended there was no damage. "What the…?"

"Nice try, but Frillish has an ability called Water Absorb, which prevents it from being damaged by Water attacks." Misty informed her. "Not only that, Water Absorb also heals damage."

"Both Frillish got banged up when Misty and Bianca caught them." Chili noted to Ash on the sidelines. "Which means now Misty's Frillish is stronger."

"Use Will-o-wisp!" Misty commanded. The blue Frillish threw a purple fireball that hit the pink one in the face. "Now use Shadow Ball!"

"Quick, dodge it!" Bianca ordered. Just as the blue Frillish threw a ball of black energy at the pink one, the pink Frillish moved out of the way. "Use Shadow Ball!"

"Dodge!" Misty commanded. Bianca's pink Frillish brought her arm tentacles together and threw her own ball of black energy at the male. But Misty's blue Frillish merely floated out of the ball's path. "Use Shadow Ball one more time!"

The blue male Frillish threw another ball of black energy at his female counterpart. And this time the ball hit Bianca's Frillish right below her neck. The pink Frillish seemed to have a hard time staying afloat.

"Use Recover!" Bianca commanded. Bianca's pink Frillish glowed with a white light, and soon all the damage she had taken had vanished. "Okay, hit that other Frillish with Attract!"

The pink Frillish gave her male counterpart a wink and hit him in the face with a pink energy heart. The blue Frillish immediately gazed at his female counterpart with love-struck eyes.

"Oh great!" Misty exclaimed.

"Hah! Hit him with Shadow Ball again!" Bianca commanded.

"Shake it off and dodge!" Misty ordered. But the blue Frillish was too paralyzed with attraction to even hear Misty's command. Bianca's pink Frillish threw another black ball that hit the blue one in the face.

"Once more, Shadow Ball!" Bianca commanded.

The pink Frillish threw one last ball that hit the blue one and knocked him to the ground. When it was over, Misty's blue Frillish was out cold.

"Misty's Frillish is unable to battle!" Fisher Jake declared. "The winner is Bianca!"

"Yay! I won!" Bianca cheered excitedly. Misty called her blue Frillish back to his ball and gritted her teeth.

"So Ms. Bianca, for winning our twenty-fifth annual fishing competition, I present you with this year's mystery prize." Fisher Jake said as two men came with a wheeled table that had something under a cloth on it. When the table stopped, Fisher Jake removed the cloth to reveal several bottles of a familiar green liquid. "Here you are, a year's supply of my son Greg's latest health drink, _Nature's Brew_."

Bianca noticeably grimaced when the bottles were unveiled. Misty on the other hand was trying her best to contain her laughter.

* * *

A few minutes later Ash and the others had gone back to the Pokemon Center. Once Misty and Bianca's Pokemon were healed, they had all gathered outside. Bianca was still carrying the large package containing her rather unwanted prize.

"Say Chili, I was wondering if since you like this icky drink so much if you'd take this year's supply I won off my hands." Bianca offered, holding out the large package of bottles.

"Sure, I was hoping you ask." Chili gladly replied as he took the package. "That stuff kinda grows on you the more you drink it."

"Well Bianca, you may not have gotten a great prize, but you did pretty well in that competition." Ash reminded her.

"Thanks Ash." Bianca replied. "It was pretty fun battling you Misty."

"Yeah, whatever." Misty said with crossed arms. Bianca looked a tad hurt by her response.

"So where are you headed now?" Chili asked.

"Actually, I still have to have my gym battle here." Bianca answered. "I got a little held up with a favor Professor Juniper wanted me to take care of."

"Well good luck." Ash told her.

"Thanks, I hope we see each other again." Bianca replied, and with that she rushed off.

"We should probably get going now." Ash said to his friends. "Chili, you decide on a route for us yet?"

"Yep, it's probably not the best route, but we should be at Nimbasa City in a few weeks." Chili answered.

"You ready to go Misty?" Ash asked.

"The sooner, the better." Misty told him.

"Uh, okay then." Ash replied, sensing that Misty was a bit ticked off. "Lead the way Chili." And with that, the group was off to their next destination.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope that this chapter was amusing at the very least. My major concern while writing this was that Misty and Bianca's battle was a bit repetitive. I'm still not great when it comes to battle scenes sometimes. Still, I think I did pretty well. As for Bianca winning the battle, it originally was going to be Misty, but I decided that I might as well let Bianca have one victory. And I should point out that Misty had only just captured that Frillish. Besides, it wasn't a total victory for Bianca. All and all, this was a fun chapter for me to write. And later on I have some huge plans for Bianca. So until next time, stay tuned. And have a happy New Year.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	17. Watch the Skies

**Author's Note:** Sorry for getting this update up a day late. This ended up being a pretty long chapter. It's also one that has a fairly surprising twist towards the end.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 16: Watch the Skies

It had been an exhausting five-day trek along a somewhat barren route in Unova, but at last Ash and his friends had reached the first stop on their journey to Nibasa City, the little town of Cropville. Cropville was a very small community that looked to be made mostly of farms. The town did not even seem to have a Pokemon Center, which was quite rare in such a day and age. The group had yet to have lunch when they arrived in town, and as Chili was too warn out to cook, they decided to head into a little diner they saw when they arrived. The interior of the little diner they entered looked as though it had been around since the 1950s and had not been changed in a long time, yet it still looked to be doing a fair bit of business.

After entering, Ash and the others saw four available stools at the counter and decided to take them, with Lucario taking stool number four. To the group's left next to Chili one stool apart was a man who looked to be in his early fifties wearing a red cap and a green jacket drinking a cup of what looked like coffee. Not long after they had sat down, an old woman with tied back grey hair wearing glasses and a pink waitress outfit came up to the counter.

"Hi there, I'm Flo." The waitress greeted, introducing herself as she passed out menus. "Welcome to the Bended Spoon. I'll be taking your orders whenever you're ready."

"Thanks." Ash replied as he and the others began to look over the menus.

"So I take it you three are just passing through." Flo assumed. "Heading to Nimbasa City?"

"Yep, and we still have a long way to go." Chili confirmed.

"Well I got a couple of spare rooms at my place if you'd like to spend the night." Flo offered. "It's a long way to the next town. It be best if you waited and started fresh in the morning."

"What do you guys think?" Ash asked the others.

"After the trip we've had, it'd be nice to sleep in an actual bed." Misty admitted.

"I wouldn't mind that either." Chili agreed.

"If I were you kids I just keep moving on." The old man at the counter suddenly spoke. "This town isn't as safe as it used to be."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Oh, pay no attention to old Vern here." Flo told them before turning to the old man. "As for you, just drink your coffee and keep your mouth shut! I don't need you bothering any of my customers with your nonsense."

"Well they certainly have a right to know what's been going on here if they're gonna stay at your place!" Vern argued. At that point many of the other restaurant patrons focused their attention towards the counter.

"What has been going on here?" Misty asked.

"…We've got aliens." Vern said bluntly after a moment.

"Aliens?" Chili repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh sure, you can laugh if you want. But it's true." Vern insisted. "No one's seen 'em, but they're around here. I know 'cause they took me. I don't remember what happened, but all I know is that one morning I woke up butt naked in the cornfield behind Flo's place."

"Dang it Vern, you wake up naked in cornfields every time you go to Earl's Bar." Laughed a man sitting in a corner booth.

"You shut your trap, Floyd!" Vern shot back. "Look, I'll admit that sometimes I do go a little overboard when I go to the bar, but I'm not the only one who's had this kinda thing happen to them. Just ask the widow Jenkins, it happened to her last week. One afternoon she's on her way to see Flo and the next morning Flo finds her out in the field in her birthday suit. The same think happened to Tom Perkins the mailman the day after that. It's aliens, I tell ya!"

"Ms. Flo, has that stuff really been happening?" Misty asked.

"Well… actually it has," Flo admitted, "but I'm sure there's a logical explanation for it."

"I'm sure there is, but it does seem suspicious." Chili commented. "Maybe there's some prowler out there knocking people out."

"And stealing their clothes too?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Mr. Vern, what makes you so sure all that weird stuff is the work of aliens?" Ash asked.

"Because one night a week ago a meteor crashed somewhere around here." Vern explained. "The thing lit up the whole sky, but no one's been able to find where it went down. Then the next thing we know, people start waking up naked in cornfields. That meteor had to be a spaceship or something."

"Ms. Flo, do you know anything about this meteor?" Ash inquired.

"Not anymore than everyone else in this town." Flo answered. "But I certainly don't think that it's some alien spacecraft. I hope what Vern's been saying hasn't made you change your mind about my invitation."

"…No, I don't think so." Ash assured her after a moment, though he had a slightly suspicious look on his face. "At least it hasn't for me."

"Me either." Misty agreed.

"I don't believe this alien stuff for one minute." Chili told Flo.

"Fine then! Go ahead and stay at Flo's!" Vern said angrily as he got up. "But don't come crying to me when you wake up the next morning and find that you might've been probed!" And with that, Vern stormed out of the diner.

* * *

A few hours later after Ash and the others had eaten lunch they went with Flo to her home. It was a small slightly run down looking two-story farmhouse surrounded on all sides by vast fields of corn. And it was quite far away from the rest of the town.

"Well, I've only got the two rooms besides my own." Flo told the group after they entered the main room of the house. "Ash, Chili, I hope you boys don't mind sharing one of them."

"Fine with us." Ash replied with Chili's added nod.

"So how long have you lived here Ms. Flo?" Misty asked.

"About thirty-eight years, give or take." Flo answered. "I raised a family in this house. Of course my kids have all grown and left now and my husband died about five years ago."

"And all that time you were working at the Bended Spoon?" Chili inquired.

"I've only been working there for a few weeks actually." Flo revealed. "One morning I woke up and realized that I'd been spending years doing nothing except puttering around this empty house. So I took that job to keep busy. I guess it was either that or move, but I've lived in this place too long to do that. Well, I'll let you all get settled in. I'll start dinner in a few hours."

* * *

Later on the night had fallen and the group had retired to their rooms. Just as Misty was preparing for bed she heard a knock on the door. Right away Misty went to answer the door, and upon opening it she found Ash standing on the other side with Pikachu and Lucario holding his sleeping bag. Misty blushed when she noticed that Ash was wearing only his t-shirt and boxers.

"Ash, what…?" Misty began to ask.

"Sorry, but if you don't mind I'd like to sleep in here with you." Ash requested. "Don't worry, I'll just take the floor. That's why I have my sleeping bag with me. And of course Pikachu and Lucario will be here too."

"Why is it so important that you sleep in my room?" Misty demanded.

"Because if there's any truth to the weird stuff we heard about at the diner I don't want to leave you alone." Ash answered. Misty began to argue the point, but backed down when she noticed the worried expression on Ash's face.

"…Okay, fine." Misty relented. "But you better not try anything Ash Ketchum."

"Geeze, what kind of guy do you take me for?" Ash said in a slightly offended tone as he entered the room.

In moments, Ash had laid out his sleeping bag on the floor next to Misty's bed and got in. Misty then got into bed and turned out the lamp. Pikachu hopped up onto the foot of Misty's bed and curled up to go to sleep, while Lucario sat down to sleep in a corner of the room. But though both Pokemon had quickly gone to sleep, Ash and Misty were still wide-awake.

"…Hey Ash," Misty began after a moment, "I understand that you're trying to protect me. But don't you think you're going a little overboard? I mean do you really think that there are aliens around here?"

"I'll admit it's a long shot." Ash replied. "But after some of the stuff we saw two years ago, I'm not willing to take any chances."

"You have a point there." Misty admitted. "But still… sometimes it seems like you can be a little overprotective."

"…Maybe I am sometimes." Ash agreed. "But… that's because I just can't stand the thought of losing you Misty. Two years ago when… when you died… I felt like nothing mattered anymore, like my heart had been ripped out. If Ho-Oh, Arceus, and the Lake Guardians hadn't brought you back that day, I don't know what I would've done. I don't think I could've gone on. That's why… I want to do everything I can to make sure you're safe."

"…You know I can take care of myself." Misty reminded him, her expression softened somewhat. "But I do feel safer with you here. Between you and me I was a little creeped out by those stories at the diner."

"Well I won't let anything like that happen to you." Ash assured her. "We should probably get some sleep now."

"Yeah, goodnight Ash." Misty replied.

"Goodnight." Ash replied back.

* * *

The morning sun shined in through the window in Ash and Misty's room, hitting Misty's face. But just as Misty was slowly starting to wake up, there suddenly came a scream that greatly startled her, causing her to fall out of bed and knock Pikachu off in the process. Misty fell on top of Ash, who was already wide-awake and on his back. There faces were only inches away from each other. Pikachu and Lucario were looking wide-eyed at the sight. Ash and Misty meanwhile just gazed at one another, both their faces turning bright red.

"Uh…" Ash managed to utter. Suddenly there came another scream, snapping Ash and Misty out of the awkward moment they were having. "That sounded like Chili."

"We should go see if he's okay." Misty recommended. Ash nodded and in moments the two managed to get back to their feet and rushed out of the room with Pikachu and Lucario.

The couple quickly arrived downstairs and went into the kitchen. And what they saw when they got there wasn't anything they expected to see. Sitting on a chair at the kitchen table was a very freaked out looking Chili wearing nothing but a white towel around his waist. Flo was also in the kitchen and was bringing Chili some sort of warm beverage to try and calm him.

"Chili, what the heck happened to you?" Misty asked.

"I-I think the aliens got me!" Chili exclaimed. "This morning I found myself in the cornfield wearing nothing!"

"I was hoping that this sort of thing wouldn't happen again." Flo said as she gave Chili the mug of warm liquid. "But I guess I was asking too much."

"So that guy at the diner was telling the truth?" Ash asked Flo with a suspicious eye.

"To a point." Flo admitted. "One morning I found the Widow Jenkins out in the field wearing nothing, just like Chili. She was out cold at the time, and when she woke up I asked her what happened. She said she didn't remember anything except coming to pay me a surprise visit. Then the next day out mailman, Tom Perkins on my doorstep looking frightened and wearing nothing. He told me he woke up with no memory of what happened to him."

"And you have no idea what caused this?" Ash asked.

"No, and since it started happening, people have been afraid to come near my place." Flo told him. "It got worse when I found old Vern out there three days after what happened to Tom. I hoped that he was just sleeping off another night of drinking. But when he woke up he said he wasn't hung over. He's the one that started that alien rumor. Vern's always believed in that kind of stuff."

"So does this mean that Vern was right?" Misty wondered.

"Chili, what's the last thing you remember doing before waking up in the field?" Ash asked.

"Well, you remember when I decided to step out for a little air?" Chili began. "The truth is I went to investigate that alien rumor for myself. I decided to try this one path through the cornfield I noticed and then… I can't remember what happened next."

"Can you take us to that path you found?" Ash requested.

"I think so." Chili replied, looking a little unsure. "But why?"

"I think it's time we find out what's really going on." Ash told the others.

* * *

A few minutes later after Chili had gotten dressed, he had led the others to an old dirt path running through the cornfield. They followed the path for what seemed like twenty minutes until they found themselves leaving the field. What they found at the end of the path was a small wooden structure built outside of a fenced in area. The first thing that caught everyone's eye was the large sign on the front of the building above the door.

"Cropville Hot Springs?" a surprised Flo read. "I don't understand, in all the years I've lived here there's never been hot springs in this town."

"Maybe they just opened." Misty theorized.

"Then how come there's nobody here?" Ash pointed out. "Let's go check it out."

Upon entering the small structure, the group fond that everything inside looked relatively new and had been used fairly recently. But what surprised them the most was the large picture on the wall behind the front desk. It was a picture of a much younger Flo standing outside the building next to a man with a mustache.

"What the…? That's me and my husband!" a very surprised Flo said to the others. "But… I don't remember anything about this."

"I looks like you and your husband ran this place." Ash assumed.

"I think I would remember running a hot springs!" Flo told him. "What on earth is going on here? Is this someone's idea of a joke?" Before anyone could answer, both Ash and Lucario tensed up to something.

"There's something here." Ash informed the others.

Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario then proceeded down the small hallway in the building, with the others following close behind. The young Aura Guardian led them down the left fork at the end of the hall, taking them outside to one of the hot spring pools. Scattered on the ground they found various bits of clothing, including bits of Chili's usual outfit.

"Wait, so… I was here?" Chili exclaimed, desperately trying to figure out what was going on.

"It looks like it." Ash told him, narrowing his eyes at a large rock near the corner of the pool. "And I don't think you were here alone."

As if on cue, five short almost humanoid creatures emerged from behind the rock Ash was looking at. They were greenish-grey and had large heads with green bug-like eyes. On their foreheads they had black lines, a few of which were shaped like a Y. Instead of fingers, each of their hands had three lights, one red, one yellow, and one green. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out about the creatures before him.

"Elgyem, the Cerebral Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "There are theories that this Pokemon is connected to a supposed UFO crash that happened in the desert over fifty years ago. Elgyem can use their psychic powers to cause headaches and even alter memories."

"Alter memories, that's it!" Ash suddenly realized. He then put his Pokedex back and threw out a Pokeball. "Go Cofagrigus!"

"Go Frillish!" Misty called as she threw out a ball of her own, following Ash's lead. The coffin and jellyfish Pokemon emerged and floated before the five Elgyem, catching the five alien Pokemon off guard.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Ash and Misty commanded together.

Using their tentacle arms, Cofagrigus and Frillish both created balls of crackling black energy, which they quickly threw at the Elgyem. The force of the attack knocked four of the Elgyem to the ground, but one remained standing and two of them were attempting to get back to their feet.

"Pikachu, finish them with Thunder Bolt!" Ash ordered.

"Pik… a… CHUUUU!" the electric rodent cried out as he let loose a yellow bolt of lightning. The lighting bolt came down and hit the Elgyem, causing them all to collapse.

"Don't you guys think that was a little harsh?" Chili asked. "I mean it didn't look like they were going to attack."

"If we didn't hit them first, we all would've forgotten everything we just saw." Ash told him.

"What do you mean?" Flo asked.

"You heard what Ash's Pokedex said. Elgyem can alter memories." Misty reminded them. "That's probably what's been happening around here."

"I'm still not following." Chili told them.

"Think about it, Flo doesn't remember this place, but there's a picture of her and her husband out in front of the building." Ash began. "These five Elgyem probably used their powers on her to make her forget all about it. They probably wiped the memories of everyone else in town too."

"But what about the people waking up in the cornfield?" Chili asked. "Including me?"

"I think that'd be obvious." Ash replied. "You and all the other people who woke up in the field probably found this place and couldn't resist taking a dip. But then those Elgyem knocked you out, wiped your memories, and dumped you all out in the field, not bothering to put your clothes back on you."

"But why would these little guys do all that?" Flo wondered.

"Only one way to find out." Ash said as he, Pikachu, and Lucario walked over to one of the Elgyem, who was just starting to get back up. "Sorry 'bout attacking you guys like that, but we didn't want you mind wiping us like you have been with all the others. We don't want to hurt you, but we would like to know why you've been keeping people away from here?" The Elgyem backed away from Ash nervously.

"It's okay little guy. You can trust us." Misty assured the alien Pokemon after walking over. After a moment the Elgyem pointed to the hot spring pool.

Ash walked over to the pool and looked in, and he was surprised when he saw a flash of light beneath the surface of the water. Ash closed his eyes for a moment and aimed his right hand down towards the water. His eyes shot back open in surprise after seeming to confirm what he saw using Aura.

"Lucario, get over here quick!" Ash commanded. Lucario promptly went over to Ash's side. "I need you to use Aura Sphere to break up parts of that meteor, but don't hit what's inside."

"Wait, meteor?" a surprised Flo interrupted. "You mean the one that came down around here a few nights ago?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't a normal one." Ash confirmed. "Do it Lucario!"

The jackal Pokemon closed his eyes and took a breath. Then with his eyes still closed he fired two balls of blue light into the water, causing two massive splashes. Lucario turned back to Ash and nodded.

"Alright Cofagrigus, use Psychic to lift it out of the water!" Ash ordered.

Cofagrigus moved his body to nod at Ash and turned to the hot spring. The coffin Pokemon's eyes began to glow blue and suddenly something began to rise up out of the water. The object in question was a large iron-grey rock, but embedded in the front of it was something that looked like smooth a light-blue gemstone. The gem seemed to flash for a moment, and Misty's eyes widened in surprise and recognition.

"Ash, don't tell me that's…" Misty began to speak.

"Only one way to find out." Ash replied, cutting Misty off. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail to break that rock!"

Pikachu jumped into the air towards the rock and flipped around. And as he did his tail glowed briefly and changed to look like a piece of metal. The electric rodent's metal tail stuck the top of the rock and caused a huge crack to form.

"I'm still not sure what's going on, but I'll help out too! Go Tepig!" Chili called out as he threw a Pokeball. The fire pig promptly emerged from his ball. "Okay, Tepig, use Rock Smash on that boulder!"

Tepig rushed forward at top speed and jumped into the air at the rock. The fire pig rammed its small body into the rock with an incredible amount of force. The rock shattered apart, and suddenly from the gemstone that was embedded in the front came a blinding flash of light. The light soon cleared, and floating above the water was a skinny almost humanoid creature that was mainly reddish-orange in color. It had a bluish-green mask-like face with a purple stripe running vertical down the middle.

The entity's eyes were white in color, and on the sides of its head were oddly shaped growth that looked like ears, each with a small horizontal blue-green stripe. Instead of arms it had four cord-like tentacles, two of which were red while the other two were blue. Its legs were stilt-like, and on the front of its upper legs were blue-green vertical stripes. The entity's midsection was grayish-black, and embedded in the middle of its chest was the same gemstone that was in the rock.

"What kind of Pokemon is that?" Chili asked as he looked at the thing with awe.

"It's a Deoxys." Misty answered. "And it's not the first one Ash and I have seen."

Suddenly parts of Deoxy's body changed. Its ears became like spikes and it grew a third spike on the top of its head. The top and bottom parts of its upper torso became grayish-black like its midsection and its tentacles became more like whips. The stripes on its legs grew longer and spikes grew out of its knees. Deoxys raised its tentacles and between them formed a massive ball of multicolored energy. Then without warning it threw the ball at the only recently recovered Elgyem, creating an explosion that hurled them into the air.

"Hey, what the heck was that for?" Ash demanded to know.

Deoxys merely ignored Ash and turned to Chili and Flo. The space Pokemon's eyes flashed blue and suddenly both Chili and Flo cried out in pain and fell to the ground unconscious. Blood was trickling down both their noses. A worried Tepig immediately rushed over to Chili's side.

"They were only trying to help you!" Ash told Deoxys.

Deoxys responded by firing a yellow beam of electrical energy at Ash and Misty from the gem in its chest. Ash quickly tackled Misty to the ground to get them both out of the way of the attack, causing the beam to hit the fence behind them and cause a small explosion.

"You okay?" Ash asked Misty.

"I'm fine, but why is Deoxys attacking us like this?" Misty replied.

"Don't know, but at this rate there's only one thing we can do." Ash said as he got back to his feet. He then pulled out another Pokeball. "Go Ho-Oh!"

The great phoenix emerged from its ball and soared into the sky. Deoxys flew up to face Ho-Oh and quickly fired off another electrical beam. The beam hit Ho-Oh in the chest, causing the great bird to cry out.

"Ho-Oh, use Sunny Day and Solar Beam!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh shrieked and its body glowed with a golden aura, and suddenly the light of the sun above grew brighter. The great bird then reared back its head and fired a beam of sunlight from its beak. The beam hit Deoxys in the chest and forced the space Pokemon down a few feet, but the creature remained air born. Once Ho-Oh's attack ended, Deoxys created another massive ball of multicolored light and threw it at Ho-Oh. The bird managed to fly out of the way of the attack seconds before it hit.

"Enough of this! Ho-Oh, use Sacred Fire!" Ash ordered.

Ho-Oh flew around behind Deoxys and its body quickly became covered in rose-colored flames. With a flap of its wings, Ho-Oh sent forth an inferno that enveloped Deoxys. When it was over, Deoxys's right leg and the tentacles in the right side of its body were burned and soon crumbled to ash.

"Pokeball go!" Ash cried out as he threw an empty Pokeball up at Deoxys.

The ball hit Deoxys on its remaining leg, pulling it inside. The ball fell back to earth and landed in front of Ash's feet. Both Ash and Misty watched intently as the ball jiggled on the ground. There seemed to be a good chance that Deoxys would burst out and continue its assault. But after a few tense moments the ball finally stopped moving, causing Ash, Misty, and the assembled Pokemon besides Ho-Oh to breath a sigh of relief. Soon after, the ball glowed with a white light and vanished.

"I guess it went to Professor Juniper's lab." Ash assumed.

"Well, you do already have six Pokemon." Misty pointed out. "We should check on Chili and Flo to make sure they're okay."

"Not to mention those Elgyem." Ash added.

* * *

A few minutes had passed and both Chili and Flo had finally woken up, though they both had headaches. The two had also found that they had recovered their memories. The Elgyem had recovered as well thanks to Ash and Misty giving them some Potion that they had on them. After getting the Elgyem back on their feet, Flo led Ash and the others to the front desk where there was a PC. And after activating the device and pressing the appropriate number, Gary's face appeared on the screen.

"Yo Ash, I had a feeling you'd call." Gary greeted. "We got that Pokemon you caught. How the heck did you find a Deoxys?"

"It's a long story." Ash told him. "I hope it hasn't been causing you and Professor Juniper any trouble. That Deoxys seems to have a bit of an attitude problem."

"So far it's been pretty tame." Gary replied. "I guess you managed to calm it down after you captured it. If you don't mind, the professor and I would like to keep it here in the lab for a little while to study it."

"I guess that's okay, but be careful." Ash told him.

"Hey, you know me." Gary replied. "See ya later Ash." And with that, the screen went black.

"This has been a weird day.' Chili commented. "Why did Deoxys attack the Elgyem and hit me and Flo with… whatever that was?"

"I'm not sure." Ash said as he held his chin in thought. "It could be that it didn't like it when the Elgyem wiped everyone's memories."

"But the Elgyem were only trying to help Deoxys." Misty pointed out. "They were only wiping people's memories to keep them away and protect it."

"That's all they could do, since their psychic power wasn't strong enough to break the meteor or even lift it out of the water." Ash confirmed.

"Still, it kind of seems a little ungrateful." Chili noted. "I just can't figure it out."

"Deoxys isn't easy Pokemon to figure out." Ash told him. "Believe me."

"It seems like you and Misty have seen this Pokemon before." Chili observed.

"Yeah, it's a long story." Ash replied. "But a friend of ours from the Hoenn Region named May befriended a Deoxys. She even captured it."

"Wait a minute, I remember reading something once about this Pokemon Coordinator from Hoenn named May. I think there was something in there about her being the daughter of a gym leader. That wouldn't be the same girl, would it?" Chili asked.

"That's her." Ash confirmed.

"Wow, from what I've read she seems pretty powerful." Chili said sounding impressed. "Not that I get what Pokemon Contests are about though."

"Yeah, May's really strong. She even beat Misty a few times in training battles." Ash revealed sounding equally impressed. Misty grumbled something incoherent in response to Ash's comment. "Something wrong Misty?"

"No!" Misty said rather angrily, catching Ash off guard. At that moment, Flo came back into the room with the five Elgyem.

"Well, there're still a few things I'm gonna have to sort out. But I should have this place back up and running in no time." Flo informed them. "And these little Elgyem are going to stay and help out."

"I guess that's the least they can do after wiping everyone's memory." Ash noted.

"It sure would make it up to me. I can't believe I ever forgot about this place." Flo replied. "My husband and I had dreamed of running a hot springs. So, are you three planning to head back out on the road?"

"We might as well." Ash answered. "We still have a long road ahead of us to Nimbasa City, right Misty?"

"Whatever." Misty huffed before suddenly storming out of the room.

"What the heck was that about?" Ash wondered, completely clueless to the blunder he had made moments ago.

"She seemed to get ticked off when you mentioned May." Chili noted. "Didn't you say she'd get like that when you traveled through Hoenn?"

"Yeah, but I don't see what that has to do with anything." Ash replied. "Let's just get going."

Pikachu sighed heavily as Ash and Chili said their goodbyes to Flo and the Elgyem. Lucario quirked his brow and made a soft bark as if it was asking Pikachu a question.

"Chu pika pika chu chu." Pikachu sighed again as he shook his head. Lucario shrugged and simply followed after Pikachu as they went to rejoin Ash, waving to the Elgyem as they did so.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Before anyone brings this up in a review, Elgyem have been shown in the anime to alter peoples memories like their evolved counterparts. Anyway, I hadn't originally planned for Ash to capture a Deoxys. Heck, I had even considered cutting this chapter a few times, but I wanted to do those two bedroom scenes with Ash and Misty. So this is the result. We probably won't see Ash's Deoxys again until later in the story, but I haven't decided on that for sure. I also ended up foreshadowing somewhat my plan for the revised Hoenn Region saga. Though I still need to work out the actual plot. Still, it'll probably be quite awhile before I get to that story.

Please review and let me know what you think. And keep watching the skies.


	18. Battling Illness

**Author's Note:** I apologize for not updating this story for the last two weeks. I felt like I needed to step away from this story again for a bit. I guess it's partly because of the last chapter. I still have some mixed feelings about how it went. I also wanted do get the ball rolling on another story I've been wanting to do. But I'm back now, so on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 17: Battling Illness

An entire week had gone by since Ash and his friends were in the small town of Cropville, and they still weren't even half way to Nimbasa City. And in that time their journey had to be put on hold, for only two days after leaving Cropville, Ash came down with a fever of some kind. So as a result, the group was forced to stay at a small Pokemon Center along the road that was miles away from the next town. A heavy rain came down outside that morning as Misty went up to Ash's room to check on him. When she opened the door, what she found made her sigh heavily.

There on the floor only a few feet away from the bed was Ash, completely unconscious. Pikachu was also on the floor out cold, and Lucario was still asleep in the corner of the room. It was bad enough that Ash had gotten sick, put all of his Pokemon, even Ho-Oh, had caught some sort of bug. Misty entered the room and went over to her unconscious boyfriend, sighing yet again as she bent down to lift him back onto the bed. The site of Ash passed out on the floor had become a common one for her. For despite his illness, Ash had been insistent that they continue to Nimbasa City. As Misty tucked Ash back into bed, Ash slowly opened his eyes.

"Misty?" Ash groggily called.

"You collapsed while trying to get out of bed again." Misty said as she put a still unconscious Pikachu back onto the foot of the bed.

"What time is it?" Ash asked.

"It's morning, but we're not going anywhere today." Misty told him. "You're still too sick. You need rest."

"Don't be silly. I'm fine." Ash insisted as he tried to sit back up. "Just having a little trouble waking up is all."

"You're in no condition to travel right now!" Misty argued, easily pushing him back onto the bed. "Besides, even if you were feeling better, it's raining out. You'd have to be a Mudkip to travel out on a day like today. We're pretty much stuck here for right now, so you might as well stay here in bed."

"…Okay." Ash finally relented. He mumbled something else before drifting back into unconsciousness, but what it was Misty could not tell.

* * *

A few minutes later, Misty went back downstairs to the lobby to find Chili sitting at a table by the window sipping tea. She sighed heavily as she slumped into the chair across from him.

"Ash doing any better?" Chili asked.

"I think so, but despite what he thinks, he's in no shape to go back out on the road." Misty replied. "Of course try telling him that. If he wasn't so sick, I'd kill him."

"I just checked with Nurse Joy. Most of Ash's other Pokemon seem to be feeling better." Chili informed her. "Pretty bad luck that Ash's Pokemon got sick at the same time he did."

"I'm just glad this Pokemon Center was nearby." Misty replied. "You know I'd never heard of this Pokerus thing before this happened."

"I've been reading this pamphlet Nurse Joy gave me on Pokerus." Chilli revealed. "According to what it says, Pokemon that come down with this bug come out of it stronger."

"That's good I guess." Misty admitted.

"So, you two ended up here too." A voice suddenly spoke. Misty and Chili turned to see Trip standing behind them. "I guess that means Ash is here."

"Hey there Trip." Chili greeted. "So are you on the way to Nimbasa City too?"

"Obviously." Trip coldly replied. "Where is Ash, anyway?"

"He's sick in bed." Misty informed him. "Why don't you come back later?"

"In this weather? That's hardly an option." Trip pointed out. "There's an indoor stadium built into this Pokemon Center. When Ash gets up, tell him I want a battle with him. He and I have a score to settle." With that, Trip walked out of the room.

"That guy really is a jerk, isn't he?" Chili commented.

"You got that right." Misty agreed. "Of all the times for him to show up. But then… even if Ash was feeling at his best, I'm not sure I'd want him to face Trip."

"Is this about that stuff that happened in Sinnoh that you guy don't like talking about?" Chili asked.

"Sort of." Misty confirmed. "Let's just say that Trip reminds Ash of someone who hurt him. I guess Trip reminds me a little of that person too."

"Well, either way you can't blame Trip for having a score to settle with Ash. Not after what happened in Castelia City." Chili pointed out. "Is it because Trip reminds Ash of this person you're talking about that he went a little crazy back then?"

"I think that's mostly the reason." Misty confirmed. "Plus Ash hasn't really liked Trip from the beginning."

"I don't blame him one bit." Chili agreed.

* * *

The afternoon came and the rain had finally ceased. Though the sky outside was still thick with grey clouds. Misty came downstairs again to find Trip sitting at the very table she and Chili were at that morning, looking out the window. Against her better judgment, Misty decided to go and talk to the arrogant young Pokemon Trainer.

"Still here, huh?" Misty asked as she walked up.

"I'm not leaving here until I battle Ash." Trip replied.

"…You know, Ash didn't mean to go crazy like that back in Castelia City." Misty revealed, hoping that bit of information would make Trip more reasonable. "He was only trying to protect those Venipede."

"This isn't about that." Trip told her. "Don't get me wrong, I do want to get back at Ash for what happened then, him and that weird friend of yours who can control wild Pokemon. But the real reason why I want to battle Ash is to find out how a nobody like him from the Kanto boonies could have a Pokemon like Ho-Oh."

"This is about Ho-Oh?" a somewhat surprised Misty asked.

"I did a little reading about Ho-Oh after that day." Trip explained. "It's a pretty powerful Pokemon. But what I can't understand is how someone like Ash could've gotten one."

"It's because Ho-Oh chose Ash." Misty told him.

"You honestly expect me to believe that?" Trip asked. "Even if that was true, why would a powerful Legendary Pokemon like Ho-Oh pick someone like him?"

"If you really knew anything about Ash, you wouldn't have to ask that question." Misty told him with a hint of anger in her voice. "You don't even know about the kind of person Ash really is."

"Why should that matter?" Trip asked indifferently. "All I need to know about an opponent is what I can learn from battling him. That's how I'll find my answers, especially once I beat him."

"That's pretty confident, especially since I've wiped the floor with you twice now." A familiar voice spoke.

Misty turned around to see a fully dressed Ash standing behind her with Lucario. She could clearly see though that Ash still looked very pale. At that moment, Chili came into the room from upstairs.

"Ash, what're you doing out of bed?" asked a worried Misty.

"Chili mentioned that Trip was here when he brought me lunch." Ash explained. Misty shot Chili a death glare in response, causing the redheaded fire trainer to shudder. "If you want a battle, Trip, that's fine with me. I'm not the kind of guy who turns down a challenge."

"There's a stadium in the back of this Pokemon Center. I'll be waiting when you're ready." Trip said before getting up and walking off.

Moments later, Ash and the others had gone to the indoor stadium where Trip was waiting. Ash and Trip took their positions on the battlefield while Chili took a spot off to the side to referee. Misty sat down on a bench behind Ash and looked on with worry. It seemed to her that Ash might collapse.

"This'll be a three-on-three Pokemon battle!" Chili declared. "Let the battle… begin!"

"Go Vanillite!" Trip called as he threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the thrown ball was a small floating creature with a large white head and a small light-blue cylindrical body with tiny arms. The Pokemon looked like an ice cream cone made out of snow and ice.

"Lucario, get out there." Ash ordered as he stood with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

Lucario nodded and took a position on the battlefield. Like Ash, the jackal Pokemon also stood with his eyes closed.

"Use Frost Breath Vanillite!" Trip commanded.

"Bullet Punch!" Ash ordered, not once opening his eyes.

Before the small ice cream cone Pokemon could make a move, Lucario leapt forward with blinding speed and hit Vanillite with a glowing white paw. The force of the punch hurled Vanillite all the way into the wall behind Trip. Trip looked rather stunned after the attack hit, but not because of Lucario's raw power. It was because Lucario did not open his eyes at all during the attack. Meanwhile, Vanillite was completely unconscious.

"Vanillite is unable to battle!" Chili declared. "Victory in the first round goes to Ash and Lucario!"

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Trip said as he called Vanillite back to its ball, his normal calm expression returning. "Lucario had type advantage in that battle."

"That's all you have to say, huh?" Ash replied, still with his eyes closed.

"Why don't you open your eyes and actually watch what your doing?" Trip asked with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Give me a break punk. It's bright in this stadium and I have a headache." Ash said in a calm tone.

"Whatever. Go Lampent!" Trip called as he threw out another ball. The ghostly oil lamp emerged and hovered before Lucario. Use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge and use Dragon Pulse!" Ash commanded.

Lampent breathed out a stream of purple flames at Lucario. Still with closed eyes, the jackal Pokemon twirled to his right and narrowly avoided the flames. In the same motion, Lucario hurled a ball of blue-green light at Lament. Trip was surprised when the attack hit Lampent dead in the face.

"Finish with another Bullet Punch!" Ash ordered.

Before Lampent could fully recover from the last attack, Lucario jumped into the air with a glowing paw raised and slammed it into the ghostly lamp. Lampent fell to the ground out cold. And not once did Lucario open his eyes.

"Lampent is unable to battle!" Chili declared. "Round two goes to Ash and Lucario!"

"Aren't you going to take this seriously?" Trip asked Ash as he called Lampent back to its ball.

"Believe me, I am." Ash assured him.

"Then why don't you and Lucario open your eyes?" Trip asked with a noticeable hint of frustration.

"I think it should be obvious that Lucario and I don't have to fight using our eyes." Ash calmly replied.

"Fine! Go Timburr!" Trip called out, throwing his third and final Pokeball.

What emerged from the ball was a small grayish-brown humanoid figure that stood at about two feet tall. It had pink bands around its shoulders and what appeared to be large pink veins on the back of its head and its hips. On its face was a large round black nose. Under its left arm, the Pokemon carried a large square wooden post.

"Use Rock Smash!" Trip ordered. Timburr jumped into the air at Lucario and raised its wooden post like a club. But before the small Fighting Pokemon could bring that club down on Lucario's skull, the jackal Pokemon caught it with his paws. And his eyes did not open once. "What?"

"Close Combat." Ash commanded. Lucario flung Timburr into the air with its own club. Before Timburr could hit the ground, Lucario let loose a fury of powerful punches that mostly hit the small Pokemon's torso. "Finish with Aura Sphere."

Lucario hit Timburr away with one last punch. And as the small Pokemon flew through the air towards Trip, Lucario flung a ball of blue light at Timburr, hitting it in the chest. When Timburr hit the ground, it was unconscious.

"Timburr is unable to battle!" Chili declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Lucario!"

"Good job, Lucario." Ash said to his Pokemon friend. Finally opening his eyes, Lucario turned to Ash and smiled.

"This isn't over." Trip calmly said as he called Timburr back to its ball. "I'll pay you back for this." With that, Trip walked out of the room.

As soon as Trip left, Ash stumbled and almost fell to the ground. Misty rushed over and caught Ash before he fell. Lucario meanwhile fell to one knee and was breathing heavily.

"That's it! Back to bed, both of you!" Misty told them.

* * *

Not long after the battle, Misty had gotten Ash up to his room and helped him over to his bed, which still had a sleeping Pikachu. Lucario meanwhile went back over to his corner of the room and fell asleep.

"I can't believe you pushed yourself like that." Misty told Ash in a calm yet scolding tone.

"Sorry, but there was just something I needed to find out about Trip." Ash said as he took off his shoes.

"You were reading his Aura during the battle, weren't you?" Misty suddenly realized. "That's why you and Lucario had your eyes closed."

"I wanted to find out if Trip was really like that bastard." Ash confirmed. "It turns out he's not. Actually, that punk's wound up way too tight."

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"He keeps his emotions all bottled up inside." Ash explained. "I could tell he was ticked off, but he wasn't letting that anger out much."

"Yeah, he seemed calm the whole time." Misty agreed. "But I could tell by how he spoke that he was getting frustrated. I wonder why he's keeping his anger locked up like that?"

"Could be he's just trying to keep focused." Ash theorized. "But I'm sure one of these days, Trip would be able to hold it all in anymore. And it probably won't be pretty when it happens."

"Well, we can worry about that later." Misty told him. "Right now, you need to get some rest."

"I'm not gonna argue with you this time." Ash said as he got into bed.

* * *

The following day, Misty went to check on Ash again. But when she came to his room, she found that it was empty. Misty quickly headed downstairs and found Ash waiting with Pikachu, Lucario, and Chili. The light of the morning sun was shining in through the window next to them.

"About time you got down here." Ash said with a smile. "We've been waiting for you for ten minutes."

"Are you feeling better?" Misty asked.

"Yep, and so are Pikachu and the others." Ash confirmed. "Right buddy?"

"Pika!" the little electric rodent said enthusiastically from Ash's shoulder.

"So how 'bout we get back on the road now?" Ash suggested.

"Just let me get my stuff and we can go." Misty replied. And with that, she headed back upstairs to get her things.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I knew going into this story that Ash and Trip's rivalry would different from how it is in the anime. I guess in a way it's been reversed. One thing that's always bugged be about the anime is that Ash never seemed to improve much as a trainer, which goes towards his lack of character development. So it really ticked me off that Ash could still lose to a trainer like Trip, who had only just started out on his Pokemon journey. Not the case in this story though.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	19. Toad War

**Author's Note:** I'd like to take a moment and thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I'm really happy with the response it got. It's because of those reviews that I've decided to do the next update to this story a little early. Well that, and Sunday is my birthday. So I'll probably be out doing stuff instead of writing. One more thing I'll mention before moving on is in this chapter and the next two we'll be seeing some Pokemon captures.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon (the Best Wishes anime would not be such a disaster if I did).

* * *

Chapter 18: Toad War

It had been three days since Ash and his friends had left the roadside Pokemon Center, where they had stayed while Ash and his Pokemon were sick. Since that time, their journey to Nimbasa City had been quiet and uneventful. Though they still had a long way to go, it seemed that they had at last reached the halfway point of their trip. That halfway point though was a massive dome-like forest of moss-covered trees.

"We're supposed to go through _that_?" Misty asked as she pointed at the forest in the distance.

"It's the quickest way to get to Nimbasa City." Chili said as he examined his map. "The place is called the Vibration Swamp, according to the map."

"Seems pretty big." Ash noted as he look ahead at forest. "You sure it's the fastest way, Chili?"

"Hey, I've gone over this map a thousand times." Chili replied. "Going through the swamp is the quickest way."

"Well there better not be any Bug Pokemon in that swamp." Misty commented.

"There aren't any bugs in Vibration Swamp, young lady." Said an older male voice from behind, causing the group to turn. "But there are plenty of other things in there you should be worried about."

Approaching the group was a man who looked to be in his late forties with shaggy black hair and a beard. He was wearing a long-sleeved pine-green shirt, dirt-brown vest, and long grey pants and black mud-covered boots. On his back he had a large blue backpack, and in his right hand he carried a simple wooden walking stick.

"Sounds like you know something about the swamp." Ash said to the gentleman.

"That I do, young man." The gentleman confirmed. "The name's Trent Cob, and I've lived around these parts for quite some time. Let me guess, you three are on your way to Nimbasa City and you thought going through the swamp would be the fastest way."

"That's right." Ash replied. "My name's Ash, by the way."

"Well Ash, let me tell you and your friends now that while Vibration Swamp seems like a good shortcut from the outside, inside it's not." Trent revealed. "I've seen Pokemon Trainers who got themselves lost for five strait weeks in that swamp. It's easy to get turned around in there, and the Pokemon that live in the swamp don't take kindly to people passing through."

"What Pokemon live in swamp?" Misty asked.

"Palpitoad, a whole bund of 'em." Trent answered. "They're the reason while the place is called the Vibration Swamp."

"Let's see…" Ash said as he got out his Pokedex to learn more.

After looking up the name, the Pokedex screen showed a blue almost polliwog-like creature with a cream-colored chest and stomach rimmed with a black band. It had a large bump on its forehead right above the eyes that was black with a light-blue circle on the top. On the sides of its head where there might normally be arms were two more identical bumps.

"Palpitoad, the Vibration Pokemon." The Pokedex identified in its mechanical voice. "By vibrating the bumps on their heads, Palpitoad can cause waves in the water and earthquake-like vibrations on land."

"The whole swamp's a maze of old trees and full of slopes and little hills." Trent revealed. "And when enough of those Palpitoad get to croaking, they can create mudslides and cause the whole maze to change around."

"So what do we do?" Misty asked.

"I can guide you through the swamp, though it won't be an easy trip." Trent offered.

"We'd be glad to have you with." Ash agreed.

* * *

A few minutes later, Trent had led the group into the labyrinthine swamp. The ancient trees that made up the walls of the labyrinth were so dense that they almost completely obscured the sky above. The ground beneath them was thick with mud, and in spots it was hard to lift one's foot up. They plodded through the swamp for what seemed like hours, and it seemed like they were no closer to the way out. The whole time, Ash and the others kept their eyes on Trent, who seemed to know exactly where they were going. Suddenly as they reached a narrow path through the forest, the entire area was filled with a loud croaking noise that made the ground shake.

"What's going on?" Chili asked loudly over the noise.

"The Palpitoad are acting up!" Trent told them. "Just stay where you all are! It'll stop in a moment!"

As they all waited for the disturbance to stop, the ground beneath Misty suddenly turned to mush and she slid down the incline that the path ran along, screaming as she did so. Before Ash or any of the others could react, Misty had vanished into the darkness below.

"Misty!" a worried Ash called after her, through his cry was in vein. After a few more moments, the noise finally stopped.

"Damn!" Trent exclaimed as he looked down into the seemingly bottomless darkness. "The whole swamp's probably changed around now. It's gonna take us a lot longer to get out of here."

"We're not leaving without Misty!" Ash told Trent.

"Easy kid, I didn't say that we were." Trent assured him. "I was going to say that it's also going to take you a long time to find your friend, which we will. But you have to keep…"

Before Trent could finish his sentence, both Ash and Lucario had kneeled down and closed their eyes. After a moment, they both opened their eyes and stood back up.

"This way." Ash ordered as he, Pikachu, and Lucario walked off in a direction that was opposite where they were previously going.

"Hey Ash, don't you think we should listen to Mr. Cob?" Chili called after them.

"We might as well follow them." Trent told Chili. "The state your friend's in right now, there's no chance he'll listen to us. Plus if we don't he and his Pokemon will get even more lost." And with that, Chili and Trent followed after Ash.

* * *

Misty woke up after an uncertain amount of time to find herself covered in mud at the bottom of a steep hill. As she slowly sat up, a Pokeball rolled from her belt and into a small rock. The ball opened up and Politoed emerged. The frog Pokemon was understandably confused about where it and its master were. Politoed then noticed Misty and gave her a worried look.

"I'm fine, Politoed." Misty said with a reassuring smile as she slowly got to her feet, grabbing the frog Pokemon's ball in the process. "Of course I have no idea where we are. I guess we just have to wait here until Ash finds us."

Before Politoed could croak out a response it was suddenly hit in the back by a large ball of mud and knocked to the ground, startling Misty. As Politoed got back to its feet, both it and Misty heard something hopping towards them through the mud. Emerging from around an old nearby tree was a Palpitoad, and as soon as it appeared it spat another cannonball of mud at Politoed. This time though, the green frog Pokemon managed to hop out of the way. Politoed glared back at the newly arrived amphibian.

"Looks like we've got a fight on our hands Politoed." Misty said to her Pokemon companion.

Meanwhile, Ash and the other continued to walk through the forest. And Ash was still leading the way. There had been absolutely no conversation between the three humans since they had lost Misty during the quake.

"…You're an Aura Guardian, aren't you?" Trent said to Ash, finally breaking the silence.

"How'd you know?" Ash asked, not once stopping or turning to look at Trent.

"I met someone like you about six years ago." Trent explained. "I was hiking outside of the swamp one day like I was when I ran into you, when I saw this guy heading right into the swamp. He was a snappy dresser, had on this blue suit and hat. And just like you, he had a Lucario with him. I just assumed he was some tourist from the way he was dressed. I warned him not to go into the swamp. But he told me that some little girl he met back in town lost her Skitty when playing near the swamp, and he was going in to get it.

"I offered to escort him, but he said he could find his way through the swamp on his own and went right in. Almost an hour later, he and his Lucario came walking back out. His suit wasn't even muddy, and he was holding that Skitty he went in for in his arms. It was the damndest thing I ever saw. I asked this man who he was, and he told me he was an Aura Guardian visiting from Sinnoh. Said his name was…"

"Riley." Ash finished for him as he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

"Yeah, that's right." Trent confirmed. "I decided to do a little reading on Aura Guardians after that. With the stuff they can do, I'm not surprised people think they're myths. So have you met this Riley guy before?"

"Riley was the one who trained me to use Aura." Ash revealed. "He gave me Lucario back when he was just an egg."

"Small world I guess." Trent mused. "So what happened to Riley?"

"…He died two years ago." Ash said sadly after a moment. Lucario whimpered in response. "He and his Lucario sacrificed themselves to save me and some Pokemon."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Trent told him. "All that aside, I guess you can tell where your friend is by her Aura, right?"

"Yeah, and we're wasting time just standing here." Ash said as he continued on with Pikachu and Lucario. Trent and Chili shrugged to each other before following after.

* * *

Meanwhile, Misty and Politoed still had the wild Palpitoad they had encountered to deal with. The battle had yet to begin, for the two Pokemon had spent several moments just glaring at one another. Suddenly Palpitoad spat out another mud ball at the rival frog, but Politoad had been waiting for the attack and managed to hop out of the way.

"Use Bubble Beam!" Misty commanded.

Politoed opened its mouth and fired out a stream of bubbles at Palpitoad, hitting it in the face. The attack did very little damage however, and Palpitoad responded in kind by spitting out its own Bubble Beam. Palpitoad's bubble attack hit Politoed in the chest. Very little harm was done to Politoed, but before the green frog Pokemon could recover, Palpitoad's entire body began to vibrate and from its mouth it fired off a blast of sound. Ploitoed managed to endure the attack, but was having a hard time staying up.

"Hang in there!" Misty cried to the green frog.

Suddenly Politoed opened its eyes back up and from its mouth sprayed out a blast of piping hot water through the sound attack. Palpitoad was hit in the face, which was glowing red-hot after the attack had ended.

"That was Scald." Misty quickly realized. "Palpitoad must have a burn. Okay Politoed, use Swagger!"

Politoed crossed its arms and glared at the rival frog. Suddenly Politoed began to glow with a red aura that flowed over and surrounded Palpitoad. When it had ended, Palpitoad began staggering around in circles.

"Pokeball go!" Misty called out as she threw an empty ball at Palpitoad. The ball sucked the blue frog in and jiggled on the ground for a moment before making the sound that signaled a completed capture. "Yes!" Misty happily exclaimed as she pumped her fist in the air. Politoed looked up at her with a confused expression. "What? That Palpitoad's a strong Pokemon."

Misty went over and picked the ball off the ground and quickly brushed the mud off of it. She then threw the ball, sending Palpitoad out. The blue amphibian emerged from the ball with a dazed expression.

"Sorry about being so rough with you." Misty said to Palpitoad as she kneeled down to its level. "You started it though. Why'd you attack us, anyway?"

Palpitoad responded by looking over to Politoed with a blush on its face. The green frog Pokemon looked back at it with a somewhat confused expression. The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a sudden croaking noise, causing Misty and the two Pokemon to turn around. Emerging from the darkness were four more Palpitoad, larger than the one Misty had just captured. And all four had very irate expressions.

Misty's hand went to her belt for Suicune's Pokeball. But before she could send out the legendary beast of water, a ball of blue light hit one of the middle Paplitoad in the face. Seconds later, Lucario leapt at the same Palpitoad and punched it in the face where a nose might normally be. At the exact same time, Pikachu flipped through the air with his tail like a piece of metal and slammed it down on head of the other middle Palpitoad.

"Go Cofagrigus!" Ash's voice called out from around the corner. The coffin Pokemon emerged and floated before the remaining frog Pokemon. "Use Psychic!"

Cofagrigus' eyes glowed and the remaining Palpitoad were hurled through the air into a large nearby log. The four rogue frogs soon got to their feet and quickly hopped away. Ash then emerged from around the corner and stood by his three Pokemon. Misty quickly rushed up to Ash and wrapped her arms around him. Ash promptly hugged her back.

"I could've gotten rid of those Palpitoad myself, you know." Misty told him.

"I know, Ash replied."

"Hey Ash, looks like you missed one of those Palpitoad." Chili said as he walked up with Trent after noticing Misty's Palpitoad.

"I caught that one." Misty informed him. "It just attacked Politoed for no reason."

"Hmm… you know, I think I know why that happened." Trent said with a smile. "That Politoed of yours is male, I can tell by the cheeks. And I've been to this swamp so many times that I can tell a female Palpitoad from a male. The one you caught is definitely a girl."

"Wait, you mean…" a surprised Misty said as she realized what Trent was getting at.

"Yep, that Palpitoad has a thing for your Politoed." Trent confirmed.

Politoed was quite surprised at this revelation. He looked over to Palpitoad, who had a heavy blush and a goofy smile on her face. The green frog Pokemon went quite red in response.

* * *

A few hours later, Trent had finally led Ash and the others out of the forest to the other side. By the time they had emerged, the sun was already beginning to set over the horizon.

"Well, this path should take you to the next town." Trent said to the group as they stood at the mouth of the forest. "You still got a long way to go to Nimbasa City though."

"It's closer than we were before." Ash pointed out. "Thanks for your help."

"No problem. Safe trip." Trent said before heading back into the forest. The group then began to head down the path.

"So were you worried when I got lost?" Misty asked Ash as they walked close together.

"Of course I was." Ash answered. "Weren't you worried?"

"Yeah, but I knew you'd find me." Misty replied.

"…You know, funny thing happened while we were looking for you." Ash revealed. "Trent said that he met Riley once."

"Really?" a surprised Misty asked.

"Yeah, turns out he was here in Unova a few years ago." Ash replied. "But the funny thing is that when we lost you, I could swear I could hear Riley's voice telling me to calm down and focus. It felt like he was still here with us."

"He is still with us in a way, you know?" Misty pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Ash agreed. "Well, we should probably stop somewhere to camp for the night. There's no way we'll make it to the next town before nightfall."

"Good idea." Misty concurred. "It's been a pretty long day."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I decided very early on that Misty was going to catch a Palpitoad instead of Ash, and that she would use Politoed to do it. The thing with Misty's Palpitoad being a girl and having a thing for Politoed was a spur of the moment thing though.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	20. Guardian of the Watchtower

**Author's Note:** Apologies for not updating for awhile. I decided to work on another story I'd been putting off doing. Anyway, we have a couple more Pokemon captures in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 19: Guardian of the Watchtower

It had been a long and winding road, but Ash and his friends were nearing the last stop on their way to Nimbasa City, the small town of Fort Stone. Fort Stone was only a week away from Nimbasa City, which meant that the longest part of their journey so far was coming close to an end. The town was not far away, but to get to it the group had to pass through a thick mist-covered forest. They had been traveling through that forest for about an hour and seemed to be nearing the end. But a delay had occurred when Chili suddenly broke away from the group. This forced Ash and Misty to go off through the forest to look for him.

"Where the heck did Chili run off to?" Misty wondered. "We've been looking for him for about ten minutes now."

"Don't worry, he's somewhere close by." Ash assured her.

"Tepig, use Flamethrower!" Chili's voice called out not far away, getting Ash, and Misty's attention.

Through the misty the couple along with Pikachu and Lucario could see a red stream of flames only a few feet away. They went towards the spot where the flash of fire was only moments ago. Then there came the sound of a Pokeball hitting a Pokemon and sucking in, followed a few moments by the sound of the ball's successful containment.

"Yes! Got it!" Chili's voice said enthusiastically through the mist. The rest of the group arrived just as Chili picked up his newest capture.

"What the heck were you doing, Chili?" Misty wished to know.

"Oh, sorry guys. When we were walking earlier I saw this Pokemon I've been wanting to catch for a long time and couldn't resist going after it." Chili explained.

"How could you see a Pokemon through all this fog?" Ash asked.

"See for yourself. Go Litwick!" Chili called as he threw out the Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was a floating white candle with a purple flame glowing on top. It had two small stubby arms on the sides of its body and a small mouth curved into a smile. A single yellow eye was visible on the left side of its face, while the right appeared to be covered by candle wax.

"Oh cool." Ash said as he got out his Pokedex.

"Litwick, the Candle Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "This Pokemon often pretends to be a guide and uses its flame to absorb the life force of those who follow it."

"Uh, is it safe for us to be near this Pokemon?" Misty wondered after hearing the Pokedex entry.

"Relax, there's nothing to worry about." Chili assured them. "In fact this little guy can help lead us through the rest of the forest, can't ya Litwick?"

"Lit." the candle Pokemon replied in a high voice with a nod.

"Okay then, let's get out of here then." Ash said to the rest of the group.

"Chili, if we keel over while following your little friend I'm gonna kill you." Misty warned as they continued their walk.

"Right." Chili said a bit nervously.

Within a few minutes the group had finally exited the forest. But the sight that greeted them on the other side was an unexpected one. It was a tall tower made of dark-grey stone, and it looked incredibly ancient. The weathered brick walls were covered in spots by green moss. At the top was a single diamond-shaped window that looked like a pitch-black hole.

"Hey Chili, anything on your map about this tower?" Ash asked as he looked toward the top of the ancient structure.

"Nothing I can see." Chili replied as he consulted the map. "It looks like it's been here a long time though."

"You can't do this!" A woman's voice shouted not far away.

"The hell I can't!" yelled back a familiar male voice. "Your town already sold me this land, Ms. Walters. Including this old tower. Which means I can do with it as I please!"

Ash and the others followed the voices to the other side of the tower. The woman was someone they had never seen before. She had long very dark-green hair and light-blue eyes. Her outfit consisted of a burgundy blazer with a grey blouse, black skirt ending just above the knees, and red heels. As for the man, who had white hair and wore a black suit and red tie, was someone that Ash and the others had met before. This man was Edger Blackwater, the land developer they encountered back in Evergreen Town when Ash had captured Snivy.

"This tower is a part of history!" the woman shot back. "You can't just tear it down!"

"Oh please, it's just an old pile of stones!" Blackwater argued. "And right now it's a pile of stones in the way of my new shopping center!"

"What's going on here?" Ash inquired as he and the others walked up.

"Oh, it's you." Blackwater said to them in a very unpleasant tone. "Get lost you brats! I don't need you ruining another deal!"

"This isn't over, Blackwater!" the woman told him. "I already have a petition going around to have this tower declared a historical landmark! Once it reaches the town council, you won't be able to tear it down!"

"Go ahead! File your little petition!" Blackwater dared. "But one way or another, this tower is coming down! Now if you'll excuse me." And with that, Blackwater stormed off.

"That selfish son of a…" the woman cursed under her breath.

"Is everything okay Miss?" Misty asked.

"Oh, not really." The woman said to them. "This is probably none of my business, but it seemed like Blackwater knew you kids."

"We've met once." Ash confirmed. "Care to tell us what you were arguing about?"

"First I should probably introduce myself." The woman replied. "I'm Carol Walters, head of the Fort Stone Historical Society. And the tower we're next to is one of the town's oldest landmarks."

"What was the tower used for?" Chili asked.

"It was a watchtower." Carol explained. "Fort Stone was named in honor of a very old castle that used to stand there thousands of years ago. This watchtower was sort of an early warning post. It's also the only thing left of the old castle, which is why it's so important it stays up."

"But now Blackwater wants to tear it down." Ash observed.

"I'm afraid so." Carol sighed. "A few weeks ago he came before the town council and offered to buy the land for a tidy sum. He also said that a shopping center would be could for the town. The town council agreed to the deal because the town itself is low on cash. But even so it's still wrong to tear down a piece of history like this."

"Is there anything you can do to stop him?" Misty asked.

"The best I could do was to petition to get the tower declared a historical landmark." Carol replied. "But the good news is that I've almost gotten enough signatures. If all goes well it'll be brought before the town council tomorrow."

Ash glanced and noticed Lucario looking up at the tower. He turned his head upward to try and find out just what Lucario was looking at. Ash saw a faint but eerie yellow light in another diamond-shaped window at the top.

"Hey Ms. Walters, is there supposed to be anyone in the tower?" Ash inquired.

"Well it's not off limits, but…" Carol said as she looked up and also saw the strange light. "That is a little odd. Maybe I should check to see who it is."

"Mind if we tag along?" Ash asked.

"Not at all." Carol said gladly. "Follow me."

Carol led the group to another side of the tower with a large doorway that at one time might've had actual doors. They went in to find a large dark room with a spiral staircase that led up. Litwick's flame provided light as they headed up the stairs. After a few minutes they reached the top floor of the tower. Standing at three feet tall in the middle of the room was the source of the odd light.

At first glance it looked to be some sort of statue. It was primarily blue in color and looked almost like it was made from uncut rocks. The torso was round and had two brown straps the met on a square blue buckle on the chest. The buckle had a swirl mark that was partly the source of the odd light. The majority of the light though came from the sockets of the arms and legs, as well as the square eyes on the head. The top of the head had a fin-like blade on top. Upon entering the room, the statue noticed the group's arrival and took a fighting stance.

"Is it a Pokemon?" Misty asked.

"Let's see." Ash said as he got out his Pokedex.

"Golett, the Automation Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "It is thought that this Pokemon was created by the science of a lost civilization. The energy inside it has yet to be identified."

"It doesn't look happy to see us." Chili noted.

"It's okay, we're not here to cause any trouble." Ash assured Golett.

Lucario also spoke to it in his own barking language. Golett stood down after a moment and went back over to one of the windows. Ash and Lucario went over to join it.

"Have you been here a long time?" Ash asked the ghostly machine. Golett nodded, not once taking its eyes away from the window.

"I'm starting to think that this Golett might've been the watchtower's sentry." Carol deduced.

"I think it still might be if you're right." Ash noted. "Golett's probably been keeping watch here all this time."

"But the fortress is gone." Chili pointed out. "There's no reason for it to stay here anymore."

"You heard that, right?" Ash asked Golett. "You don't have to stay here anymore. You could leave and go anywhere you wanted."

Lucario then began to speak to Golett again. This time Golett turned its head to face him. Pikachu joined in on the conversation as well. But when they were both done talking, Golett shook its head and turned back to the window.

"Doesn't look like Golett wants to leave." Ash observed.

"I'm not surprised." Carol commented. "It's masters told it to remain at it's post. And it hasn't once disobeyed their orders."

"So this Pokemon belongs to someone dead?" Misty asked.

"Well were talking about a time before Pokeballs." Carol pointed out. "This Golett is technically a wild Pokemon. But that long ago it probably served the military of the old fort."

"That sure is loyal." Ash commented. "Well, I guess we should be going now. Take care of yourself Golett."

Ash and the others walked out of the room and headed for the stairs. Golett watched them as they left. A few moments later the group was a ways away from the tower and was heading for town. Every now and then, Lucario looked back towards the tower.

"So if Blackwater does destroy the tower, what does that mean for Golett?" Chili wondered.

"It'll have lost its purpose." Ash said with a sad expression. "Golett's been manning that tower for a long time."

"Then that's all the more reason for me to stop Blackwater." Carol said with a determined expression.

Suddenly there came the sound of a loud explosion from behind them. They all turned to see the ancient watchtower crumbling down. Ash and the others rushed back and saw Blackwater standing triumphantly before the remains of the tower with two thugs in black suits. One of them was holding a small dynamite plunger in his hands.

"What the hell did you just do?" Carol shouted.

"Ah, Ms. Walters." Blackwater observed. "I have to thank you for warning me about that little petition of yours. I'm sure it wouldn't have passed, but I decided to play it safe and move the demolition up. Especially when your little friends showed up."

"You idiot!" Ash cursed. "Do you know what the hell you've just done?"

"All I did was remove an old pile of rocks that no one cared about anymore." Blackwater said coldly.

"There was someone who cared about that tower!" Ash told him. "A Pokemon that's been living there for a long time, and now you've blown up its home!"

"Then it'll just have to find a new one, that is if it survived the explosion." Blackwater said indifferently. "This is progress, and anyone who stands in the way of it gets mowed down. And it's just as well."

Ash's anger had reached a boiling point, but before he could do anything a large part of the rubble was tossed aside. Golett stood before them with its unearthly light glowing with a sort of rage. Before anyone could respond, Golett stomped the ground with its right foot and a wave of earth came towards Blackwater. Before they could get out of the way, Blackwater and his thugs were knocked into the air and fell to the ground. Golett began to come towards them, but Lucario quickly stood in its way.

"Golett, stop!" Ash called to the ancient Pokemon. "Attacking them isn't worth it!"

Golett's foot struck the ground again and sent another wave of earth. Lucario quickly jumped out of the way.

"I guess we have no choice. Lucario, attack with Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded.

Lucario charged at Golett with his paw raised to strike. As the paw glowed white and Lucario got in close, the punch impacted with Golett's face. Golett quickly recovered and its right fist became covered in flames. The ancient machine brought its fist into Lucario's stomach, causing the jackal Pokemon to fall to his knees. With a sweep of its right leg, Golett kicked Lucario a few feet away. Lucario managed to get back to his feet with some effort.

"You have to stop Golett!" Ash pleaded. "Look, Lucario and I know how you feel. You lost something important to you and now you're angry. Two years ago Lucario, Pikachu, and I all lost someone who was very important to us. And we lost them because of a bastard like Blackwater. We were sad and angry when it happened, but all the anger in the world isn't going to bring that person and his Pokemon back. And attacking Blackwater isn't going to bring your tower back either."

Lucario then began to speak to Golett. Pikachu joined in on the conversation moments later. After a few moments Golett seemed to calm down. The eerie light from its body dimmed slightly. A gentle rain began to fall from the overcast sky above.

"You could come with us Golett." Ash suggested. "You've been here for a long time. Wouldn't you like to see the world beyond the window of your tower?"

Golett looked from Ash and Pikachu to Lucario. After a moment Golett nodded to Ash. Ash threw an empty Pokeball at the ancient Pokemon. The ball sucked it inside and the capture was sealed without struggle. A second later the ball glowed with a white light and vanished.

"It went back to Professor Juniper's lab." Chili noted.

"I'll switch it when we get to the Pokemon Center." Ash told him.

"Well, I'm certainly glad this little mess is over." Blackwater said as he limped up to them. "Thanks for your help."

Ash glared at Blackwater in response. Lucario growled at him and Pikachu bared his teeth and his cheeks crackled.

"You better hope we don't run into each other again." Ash warned Blackwater in a low voice.

The group then began to walk away. As they did, Ash nearly tripped over a large rock in his path. He picked it up and saw that it was blue and resembled a turtle shell. Shrugging, he put the rock under his arm.

"Ash, why are you taking that rock with?" Misty asked.

"Not sure. Maybe I just want something for Golett to remember the tower by." Ash said without looking back.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash and the others reached the town of Fort Stone. They went directly to the Pokemon Center where Lucario received treatment for the damage he took during the earlier battle. While they were there Ash contacted Professor Juniper and switched Cofagrigus with Golett.

"We might as well stay here for tonight." Misty said to Ash. "I mean it is getting late."

"That's fine." Ash agreed. "Hey Ms. Walters, I'm sorry things turned out the way they did."

"So am I." Carol said with a sigh. "The town lost an irreplaceable piece of history today. Not to mention that Golett lost its home. But then maybe it's better off with you."

"So what're you going to do now?" Misty asked.

"Just try and preserve the history that's left." Carol shrugged. "Though I would like to ask a favor of you Ash. There's something about that stone you took with that has me intrigued. With your permission I'd like to take it to a friend of mine here in town to have it examined."

"Sure." Ash agreed. "It's the least I could do I guess."

"Why don't you and your friends come by my office tomorrow before you leave town." Carol said as Ash gave her the fossil.

"No problem." Ash replied. With that, Carol said her goodbyes and left the Pokemon Center.

"The rain's let up." Misty noticed. "You guys want to go somewhere to get a bite to eat?"

"That's fine with me." Chili replied.

"Works for me." Ash agreed.

The group left the Pokemon Center to go find a restaurant in town. As they turned the corner of the sidewalk, Ash saw a poster for the shopping center that Blackwater was building. And he couldn't help but think about how much Blackwater reminded him of Cyrus.

* * *

**Author's Note:** In an earlier review someone had mentioned how Chili hadn't caught any new Pokemon for awhile. So I decided to throw in a Litwick capture. I was originally going to have it in an earlier chapter, but I cut it. As for Blackwater, don't worry. He'll get what's coming to him eventually.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	21. Blast From the Past

**Author's Note:** I decided to go ahead and do this chapter partly to make up for not updating last week. We kinda have a short chapter here. As implied towards the end of the last chapter, Ash is going to get another Pokemon.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 20: Blast From the Past

Morning came to the quiet little town of Fort Stone. The sun had risen and the townspeople were getting ready to start the day. Ash and his friends too were getting started on their day too. It was still a fairly long way to Nimbasa City and the sooner they set out, the better. Though they did have one stop to make before leaving. That morning, Ash and his Pokemon companions came down to find Misty and Chili already there, waiting for them.

"Ready to go see Ms. Walters?" Misty asked.

"Just one second." Ash replied as he took out a Pokeball. "Go Golett!"

The ancient Pokemon emerged from its thrown ball. Lucario went over to greet it.

"Why'd you send Golett out?" Chili asked.

"I figured it might like to spend a little time out of its ball for a bit." Ash explained. "After what happened to its tower it might be a good idea for it to spend time with friends."

"Excuse me, Ash?" Nurse Joy called over from the counter. "Are you going to go see Ms. Walters?"

"That's right." Ash confirmed as he came up.

"She just left a message for me." Nurse Joy informed him. "She said before you come over you should put one of your Pokemon in storage."

"Why's that?" Ash wondered.

"Oh dear, that part's slipped my mind." Nurse Joy answered with an embarrassed expression. "I can be a little absent-minded sometimes. It's a miracle I remembered to give you this message in the first place. But I can tell you that she's waiting at the Fort Stone Museum down the street."

"Well okay. Thanks." Ash replied. With that, Nurse Joy went to the backroom of the Pokemon Center.

"Why would Ms. Walters ask you to store one of your Pokemon?" Misty wondered.

"No clue. But I guess I should go ahead and do it." Ash said as he rubbed the back of his head out of puzzlement.

"Which Pokemon are you going to store though?" Chili inquired.

"Well, it obviously won't be Pikachu, Lucario, or Ho-Oh." Ash answered. "I just got Golett and I don't want to bench Snivy right now. I guess I'll store Larvesta for the time being."

"Yes!" Misty said enthusiastically. Ash and Chili gave her an odd look. "I mean, that could work I guess."

A few minutes after Ash sent Larvesta over to Professor Juniper, the group was on its way to the museum. It was a short walk, but it was time enough for Lucario, Pikachu, and Golett to chat. When they entered the museum they found that it was small. Not quite as impressive as the one in Nacrene City. But it did have a fairly interesting collection of fossils and old relics. Clay pots, old stones with carvings on them, and hung on the walls were old worn tapestries. Carol came out of the backroom almost as soon as the group arrived.

"Glad you could drop by Ash." Carol greeted.

"No problem." Ash replied. "So what did you find out about that rock?"

"Didn't Nurse Joy tell you?" Carol asked looked a bit surprised.

"Well she said you wanted me to store one of my Pokemon before coming here. But she forgot why." Ash explained.

"Yes, that's our town's Nurse Joy alright." Carol sighed. "I once had a package delivered to the Pokemon Center and she forgot to tell me it had come for two weeks. Well, wait here and I'll bring you your explanation." She then retreated to the backroom.

"This certainly is turning into a mystery." Chili commented.

"Excuse me." A voice spoke from behind. "Is Ms. Walters or Dr. Fleming in?"

The group turned around to see a girl who looked to be about twelve or thirteen. She had light-brown hair tied back in a braided ponytail and pale-green eyes. Her outfit was made up of a tan tank top with a brown vest and shorts, along with a pair of black hiking shoes. On her back was a large green backpack stocked with equipment used for camping or digging. The girl's face suddenly lit up when she saw Ash's three Pokemon.

"Oh wow! A Golett." The girl observed enthusiastically as she went over. She began to look Golett over with a magnifying glass. "I've never seen a real one before. This is quite a find."

"Um, who are you?" Ash inquired.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Sandy Parks." The girl greeted after remembering Ash and the others were there. "So is this your Golett?"

"Yep, I caught it yesterday." Ash confirmed. "I'm Ash, by the way. With me are my friends Misty and Chili"

"A pleasure to meet you." Sandy replied as she shook their hands. "Anyway, my apologies for ignoring you earlier. I was just so thrilled to see an actual Golett. You see I'm an enthusiast of ancient Pokemon. I actually have quite a collection already."

"So why are you here to see Ms. Walters and this doctor you mentioned." Misty asked.

"Yesterday I left a fossil I found a week ago to be revived." Sandy explained.

"Revived?" Chili asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right. The museum here in Fort Stone is one of the only places in Unova that revives Pokemon fossils." Sandy revealed. "The other is the Nacrene City Museum, but I came here because it was closer."

At that moment, Carol reentered the room. Walking next to her was a slightly overweight man with dark-brown hair wearing thick glasses and a white lab coat.

"Oh, you're here too Ms. Parks." Carol observed.

"Yep. So is my fossil revived?" Sandy asked.

"It sure is." The man that Ash and the others deduced to be Dr. Fleming confirmed. "Here ya go." He handed Sandy a Pokeball.

"Thank you." Sandy said with an expression of excitement as she took the ball. "Let's see what I got."

Sandy threw the ball, and emerging from the ball was a small bird-like creature with a mainly yellow body and a blue head. The ends of its wings were blue, as was the end of its red lizard-like tail. Its legs were also red, as was its fanged beak.

"Oh wow! An Archen!" Sandy exclaimed.

"Let's see." Ash said as he got out his Pokedex.

"Archen, the First Bird Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Unable to fly, this Pokemon moved about by hoping from tree branch to tree branch. Archen is thought to be the ancestor of all bird Pokemon."

"So this is a prehistoric Pokemon?" Misty inquired.

"That's correct." Dr. Fleming confirmed. "And Mr. Ketchum, I just finished reviving your fossil as well."

"_My_ fossil?" Ash asked as he took the Pokeball that the good doctor handed to him.

"I thought there was something familiar about the rock you found at the tower, so I had Dr. Fleming examine it." Carol explained. "It turned out to be a fossil just like I thought it'd be. So I had Clark revive it for you."

"Oh, well thanks then." Ash replied. "Well, let's see what I got."

After Ash threw the ball, the creature that emerged was a slightly large blue sea turtle. It had a very dark-blue shell with six circular indentations in the top, and the top of its snout was also dark-blue.

"Wow! A Tirtouga!" Sandy said enthusiastically. "You sure are lucky Ash."

Ash got out his Pokedex again to learn more about his newest Pokemon.

"Tirtouga, the Prototurtle Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "This Pokemon lived in oceans about one-hundred million years ago. Tirtouga is able to dive down into the water more than half a mile."

"You are lucky Ash." Misty commented. "I want a Pokemon like that."

"You would." Ash said with a small chuckle. "Well, thanks for the Pokemon Ms. Walters, Dr. Fleming. I think we'll be heading out now though."

"Heading out?" Sandy asked.

"Yeah. My friends and I are headed to Nimbasa City." Ash explained.

"I see." Sandy replied. "In that case, could you do me a favor before you leave?"

"What is it?" Ash asked.

"Well, I was hoping we could battle using our new Pokemon." Sandy explained.

"Sure, I could use a battle." Ash agreed.

Moments later they had all gone outside to a field behind the museum. Ash and Sandy had already taken their positions, their Pokemon ready for battle. Chili meanwhile had taken his position off to the side to judge the battle.

"This will be a one-on-one battle." Chili declared. "Begin!"

"Okay Tirtouga, use Aqua Jet!" Ash commanded.

"Archen, block with Quick Guard!" Sandy ordered.

Tirtouga's head and limbs retracted into its shell and it became shrouded in water. The ancient turtle took off at Archen like a missile. At the last instant though, Archen hopped into the air and began to glow with a red aura. The proto bird brought its wings forward and clapped them together. A shield of red energy formed and Tirtouga ricocheted off.

"What the…?" a confused Ash exclaimed.

"Quick Guard blocks attacks that strike first like Quick Attack and Aqua Jet." Sandy explained. "Okay Archen, use Ancient Power!"

Archen opened its beak and fired a ball of white light at Tirtouga. When the smoke from the resulting explosion cleared, the turtle Pokemon had withstood the attack.

"You use Ancient Power too Tirtouga!" Ash commanded.

Tirtouga opened its mouth and fired its own ball of light at Archen. The proto bird was hit and knocked back by the resulting explosion.

"Okay, use Aqua Jet!" Ash ordered.

"Nice try. Use Quick Guard!" Sandy commanded.

Archen hopped into the air again as Tirtouga became shrouded in water and took off. The clapped its wings together and formed another shield, causing Tirtouga to bounce off.

"Use Aqua Jet one more time!" Ash ordered.

"You need to learn another trick, because that one's getting old fast." Sandy said confidently. "Use Quick Guard again!"

Still shrouded in water, Tirtouga curved around and came at Archen again. The proto bird clapped its wings again to form another shield. This time though, Tirtouga broke through the shield as if it was glass and collided with Archen.

"What?" a surprised Sandy exclaimed.

"Looks like you're the one who needs to learn a new trick." Ash gloated. "I had a feeling Quick Guard wouldn't work when used over and over again. Okay Tirtouga, finish it with Crunch!"

Before Archen could recover from the last attack, Tirtouga bit down hard on its right wing. When the turtle let go, Archen fell to the ground on its side, out cold.

"Archen is unable to battle!" Chili declared. "The winners are Ash and Tirtouga!"

"Darn!" Sandy said with a defeated look as she called Archen back to its ball. "Oh well, raising Pokemon revived from fossils isn't easy."

"You did pretty well in that battle." Ash told her encouragingly.

"Yeah, but it looks like I have a lot of training to do with Archen." Sandy pointed out. "It was fun battling you though."

"Same here." Ash replied.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash and his companions went back to the Pokemon Center with Sandy to treat Archen and Tirtouga. When Nurse Joy had finished, they all went outside to say their goodbyes.

"Well, it was nice meeting all of you." Sandy told them.

"Where are you headed next?" Misty inquired.

"There are some recently discovered ruins I want to check out." Sandy answered. "I hope we'll run into each other again though."

"I'm sure we will." Ash assured her. "Take care."

"You too." Sandy replied, and with that they parted ways.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The main reason why I decided to have Ash get a Tirtouga was simply because his current team didn't have any Water Pokemon (Oshawott and Palpitoad ended up with Misty). Sandy will appear later chapters by the way. Anyway, the other reason why I went ahead and got this chapter done now is because in the next chapter we enter a four-part story arc. Some old enemies are coming to get back at Ash and Misty.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	22. Savage Persian

**Author's Note:** We now enter a big four-chapter arc in this story. I imagine that the development in this first part will be one that a lot of people might hate, yet I'm hoping that there will be a lot of people that like it too. So I ask that those of you reading keep an open mind.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon (if I did, the anime would have a little thing called character development).

* * *

Chapter 21: Savage Persian

Ash and his friends were still a week away from Nimbasa City, and their journey was taking them through a small forest. It was a forest thick with trees, yet calm and silent. The only sounds heard were the occasional distant cries of Pokemon. Despite this calm however, Ash felt very much on edge. It seemed like he and his friends were not alone in that forest. Ash was not the only one in the group who was on edge. Pikachu and Lucario had tensed up since entering the forest.

"Ash, is everything okay?" Misty asked upon noticing her boyfriend's mood.

"Dunno. I just feel like we're being watched." Ash answered as his eyes continued to dart around every now and then.

"Don't worry. We'll be out of this forest soon." Chili assured him.

"The forest isn't bothering me." Ash explained. "It's just… I feel like there's something in here. Something familiar."

"You're probably just imagining it." Misty tried assuring him. "Now let's get out of here."

"Yeah… okay." Ash agreed. But he refused to drop his guard.

As the band of travelers continued on, a pair of eyes was watching them from one of the trees above. And they weren't human. The thing purred to itself as it watched them walk away.

* * *

A few minutes later the group had emerged from the forest. Their path took them down into a small canyon. The feeling of being watched did not leave Ash and his two companions as the walked between the towering walls of stone. When they had gotten half way through the canyon there came the sounds of explosions before and behind them. Ash quickly took hold of Misty and both he and Lucario erected a barrier of blue light around the entire group as stones began to rain down from above. When the dust had finally cleared, the path through the canyon was cut off at both sides by piles of rubble.

"What just happened?" Misty wondered as Ash and Lucario let down the barrier.

"We've been trapped!" Chili exclaimed.

"I knew it! Whoever you are, come out and show yourself right now!" Ash called.

In answer to Ash's call, a large cream-colored cat jumped down from the canyon wall and climbed down the pile of stones before them. The cat had round black ears and a small red gemstone on its forehead.

"Is that a Persian?" a surprised Chili asked. "I didn't that Pokemon could be found here in Unova."

"Oh I assure you my good fellow, I am quite uncommon." Persian spoke in a deep refined male voice, surprising Ash and the others.

"What the…? It talked!" Chili exclaimed.

"Well, I was wondering if we'd ever run into you again." Ash said to Persian. "It's been a few years."

"Indeed. You're looking quite well." Persian complimented.

"Ash, do you know this Pokemon?" Misty asked.

"C'mon Misty, we only know one talking cat Pokemon that isn't legendary." Ash reminded her.

"Wait, you mean that Persian was once…" Misty suddenly realized.

"Meowth, that's right." Persian confirmed with a fanged grin. "But now I am so much more. I do apologize for causing the explosions that boxed you into this canyon, but I felt it was time we caught up."

"What the heck is going on?" a very confused Chili asked.

"When I first started out as a trainer, Misty and I kept running into this pair from Team Rocket who had a talking Meowth with them." Ash explained. "They kept trying to steal Pikachu. Misty and I stopped running into them though around the time we went to the Hoenn Region."

"Oh, I get it. So that Meowth must've evolved." Chili realized.

"Very astute. Your new companion seems sharper than that one twerp who used to chase after women all the time." Persian commented. "Though perhaps not by much."

At that moment, Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder to confront Persian.

"Chu! Chu pi pika!" Pikachu spoke with an angry expression.

"You are correct my old nemesis. Like you, evolving was the last thing I ever wanted. It was one of the few things we had in common." Persian replied. "But let me ask you this rodent, would you evolve if it was the only way to save your trainer and his friends?"

"Pi?" Pikachu asked with a quirked brow and a tilted head.

"Never thought about it, eh?" Persian chuckled. "Believe me, you'd be surprised how quickly one will throw away his principles to save those he cares about. Perhaps I should explain what happened since our last encounter. I should start by telling you that my associates and I are no longer members of Team Rocket. We were expelled from the organization not long after the Johto League. It seemed that our employer, Giovanni, felt that we were wasting our time on a pointless chase. So he sent an agent to test us. We failed.

"After we were thrown off the team, the agent sent to deal with us, Noir Mask, revealed that Jessie's long lost mother was also a member of Team Rocket. Apparently her mother was sent off on a mission to find the elusive Mew and vanished. Though as far as Team Rocket was concerned she was still alive, and out there somewhere. Jessie never knew any of this. So she decided to devote her time to searching for her, and being the friends we were, James and I went with her.

"It was hard trying to trace the path Jessie's mother took to try and find Mew. But we had managed to find the information from various sources. We went down a very harsh road, however. At many points on our journey we almost lost our lives. One such instance was when we had gotten lost in the snowy mountains and had somehow angered a large number of Urasring. We attempted a retreat of course, but they had cornered us.

"Both Jessie and James managed to fight off some of the Ursaring, but there were far too many for their Pokemon to handle. In the end it came down to only me, and that was when I had no choice."

"So you evolved to save them." Ash realized.

"You have no idea what a strange and painful experience it was." Persian went on. "But though I loathed the idea of evolving, in the end it turned out to be quite beneficial. I had lost the ability to walk on two legs, but my intellect greatly increased, as did my strength. And I learned an entirely new set of attacks. Here's the one I used to scare off the Urasring. Thunder Bolt!"

Persian let off a powerful blast of yellow lighting that hit Pikachu and knocked him to the ground. Pikachu got back to his feet, but with some difficulty. Ash and the others looked on with shocked expressions.

"Don't be so surprised, rodent." Persian chuckled. "You've hit me with that attack so often it's no wonder that I'd learn to use it myself."

"Quick Pikachu, hit Persian with your own Thunder Bolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pik… a… CHUUU!" the electric mouse cried as he fired off his own yellow blast of electricity. Persian jumped out of the way of the attack and dashed behind Pikachu with incredible speed.

"Too slow!" Persian taunted as he slashed Pikachu across the back with claws glowing with a purple light.

"That was Night Slash!" Chili identified.

"Quite right." Persian confirmed. "And here's an attack that my companions had always wanted me to learn. Pay Day!"

With another swipe of his claws Persian sent a wave of gold coins at Pikachu. The electric rodent was knocked back a few feet.

"Here's the final move in my repertoire." Persian said with a fanged grin as Pikachu was just getting up. "Iron Tail!"

Persian leapt into the air and flipped around. As he did his tail glowed with a white light and changed into a piece of metal. The savage cat brought the metal tail right down on the top of Pikachu's head. When it was over, Pikachu was still somehow conscious but unable to get up.

"I'm not through with you yet, little mouse." Persian told him. "We cats prefer to toy with our prey before finishing them off."

Before Persian could make another move though, Lucario suddenly jumped in and punched the cat in the side of the face with a glowing white paw. Persian was knocked back a ways, allowing Lucario to stand between him and Pikachu.

"You have no right to interfere!" Persian snarled.

Lucario simply glared and spoke something in his own barking language.

"Protecting your older brother, eh? How touching." Persian chuckled. "Very well then. You will pay for your sentiment!"

With that, Persian roared and let off another Thunder Bolt attack. The attack hit Lucario with incredible force and caused him to fall to one knee. But the jackal Pokemon withstood the attack.

"Lucario, attack with Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded. Lucario brought his paws together and threw a ball of blue light. Persian tried to dodge the attack but was hit and knocked into the air. "Now, Bullet Punch!"

Before the savage cat Pokemon could hit the ground, Lucario jumped up and hit him in the stomach with another glowing punch. Persian hit the ground but quickly got back up.

"I'll retreat for today." Persian decided. "But this is far from over, twerps. Don't forget that I am not alone."

With amazing speed and agility Persian jumped up the pile of stones obscuring the group's path and dashed away over the wall. With the threat gone, Ash and the others quickly ran over to tend to Pikachu.

"You okay buddy?" a worried Ash asked.

"Pi…ka" the rodent said weakly with a reassuring smile.

"I better tend to those wounds." Chili said as he began to dig through his bag for what we needed.

"How do we get out of here?" Misty wondered.

"Go Golett!" Ash called as he threw out a Pokeball. The ghostly machine emerged from its ball. "Okay Golett, use Mega Punch on those rocks. Lucario, you help out with Bullet Punch."

Both Lucario and Golett's fists began to glow with a white light. They charged forward and hit the pile of large rocks with incredible force, causing them to crumble. Ash and the two Pokemon then began moving the smaller rocks out of the way, and soon a small path had been created.

"How's Pikachu?" Ash asked as he, Lucario, and Golett walked back to the others.

"He should be fine, but Persian really did a number on him." Chili answered. "I sure wouldn't have him battle for a while."

"Persian sure isn't the same Pokemon we fought before." Misty pointed out with a concerned expression.

"No, he's not." Ash agreed. "And like he said, he's not alone. I have a feeling we'll be seeing him and his friends again real soon."

* * *

Not far away, Persian entered an airship that had landed in an open field. The feline Pokemon came to a darkened room with a single window. Sitting in a chair in the room was a woman reading a book. Her face obscured by the darkness. The woman looked up from her book and saw Persian as he entered.

"Did it go well?" She asked.

"Well the good news is that easily defeated Pikachu." Persian answered as he stopped a few feet away in front of the chair. "Hard to believe that I was ever beaten by that rodent."

"I kept telling you that you were holding yourself back." The woman reminded him. "You put far too much faith in those ridiculous machines of yours when you should've relied more on your natural talents."

"How right you are." Persian agreed. "Still, the day was not a total victory. While I did defeat Pikachu, the twerp's Lucario interfered and beat me back. I had no choice but to retreat."

"Well don't feel too bad about that, my pet. Lucario is a Fighting and Steel type." She pointed out. "You had a distinct disadvantage in that fight."

"Indeed, there wasn't much you could've done." A male voice agreed at the doorway.

"And I suppose you could do better, James old boy." Persian replied, scoffing somewhat.

Walking into the room was a man wearing a white suit with a black shirt, white tie, and black gloves. The light of the window revealed his face as he entered. He had green eyes and purplish-blue hair that ended just above his shoulders.

"Don't worry old friend. I've come up with a strategy to defeat the twerp and his Lucario." James assured Persian.

"Alright son-in-law." The woman chuckled. "Tomorrow we'll give you a shot at revenge."

* * *

**Author's Note:** They're _baaack_. And as we've just seen, Ash isn't the only one to have gone through a character development makeover in this little AU of mine. I will give the Black and White anime some credit for having the Team Rocket trio become something of an actual threat. But it was so spontaneous that I didn't buy. This time the trio has become a threat, but this time there's an explanation to how. As it turns out, being kicked out of Team Rocket back in _Trial of the Phoenix_ was the best thing to happen to the three.

As for Meowth, or I guess I should say Persian, I had decided that the only way for him to become a serious threat was for him to evolve. I had wondered a few times what would've happened if the TRT Meowth evolved in the anime. A friend of mine speculated that he'd have to learn how to talk all over again. But I imagined Meowth becoming more intelligent and aggressive upon evolving into Persian. As I said earlier, I imagine there'll be a few fans out there who'll hate this development, but at the very least I hope I've given a plausible explanation of how it happened.

James makes a comeback next chapter, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	23. Cunning James

**Author's Note:** We now come to the second chapter in our four-part story arc. But before we get any further, remember the Toxic Terrors chapter where Ash and the gang come across that town with the Trubbish infestation? Part of that chapter is kinda important here.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 22: Cunning James

Morning had come for Ash and his companions, though the sky above was overcast with grey clouds. After their encounter Persian the day before the group had decided to set up camp near a small forest by a lake. They were eager to get back on the road to Nimbasa City. Though it was for safety more than it was for getting to the next gym. They were vulnerable out on that open road, and with the return of Ash and Misty's oldest enemies now back in the picture, vulnerable was not a good thing to be. At that moment, the group was busy packing up camp.

"How're we doing on supplies Chili?" Ash asked.

"Well the good news is we have enough food to last us 'til Nimbasa City, and water's no issue thanks to Misty." Chili reported. "But we're running pretty low on medical supplies, especially after what happened to Pikachu yesterday."

"That's not good." Ash commented. "Especially now that ex-Team Rocket is back."

"There might be a few berries in the forest we could use." Chili suggested.

"Okay then, Lucario and I will go look for berries while you guys finish packing up." Ash decided.

"Are you sure it's a good idea for you to go in there alone?" Misty asked.

"Don't worry Misty. I'll be fine." Ash assured her. "And it's not like I'm going in there alone. You just stay here and look after Pikachu."

"Okay," Misty agreed, "but don't take too long."

"Be back in a few minutes." Ash told them, and with that he and Lucario departed.

* * *

A few minutes later, Ash and Lucario had gone deep into the forest. So far they were not finding any sort of berry trees, and it was taking way too long to look for them. As soon as the two had entered a small clearing in the forest they stopped, as they suddenly felt a presence. And Ash felt it was a familiar one. It wasn't Persian, but he felt is was someone he knew.

"I know you're here!" Ash called out. "Come out and show yourself!"

"A pity, I was hoping to surprise you." A familiar voice spoke. James emerged from the opposite side of the clearing. "You used to be so much easier to sneak up on."

"James!" Ash observed as he narrowed his eyes.

"Don't be so surprised to see me. You knew I'd be coming after all." James pointed out. "You're looking well, by the way."

"You don't look too bad yourself. Nice suit." Ash replied, commenting on the white suit James was wearing.

"Why thank you. Those who're wealthy do have to set a certain standard in fashion." James told him.

"Wait, you're rich now?" a surprised Ash asked. "Let me guess, you used Persian's Pay Day attack to make money."

"Well that did help, but the fact is I came into a bit of money a little less than a year and a half ago." James revealed. "You see my parents died in an unfortunate yacht accident, and I was left with the family fortune. There was a condition of course. I had to be married. But fortunately that had already taken care of that."

"What, so you actually married that one girl who looked like Jessie?" Ash inquired. "What was her name again?"

"No, I did not marry _her_!" James said as he cringed. "I married Jessie."

"Same difference." Ash shrugged.

"I will admit that there are a few similarities between Jessie and… _that woman_. But they are hardly the same." James disagreed.

"If you say so." Ash commented as he rolled his eyes. "Course now that I think about it, I didn't think you liked Jessie in that way."

"Neither did I until one fateful day." James began. "It was during our search for Jessie's mother. Meowth had just evolved and we were still lost in the mountains. Jessie had slipped and fallen off the side of the cliff we were traveling by. I managed to catch her hand at the last second. Sometimes you don't know how you really feel about a person until you almost lose you."

"…Yeah, I know what you mean." Ash agreed as he recalled the time he almost lost Misty during the final battle with Cyrus.

"In that moment I realized my true feelings for Jessie and proposed to her right on the spot." James revealed.

"Wait, you proposed to her while she was dangling over the side of a cliff?" a shocked Ash asked.

"Well now that you mention it, that might have put some pressure on her." James admitted thoughtfully. "But it all turned out well in the end. Now, enough catching up! We have a score to settle."

With that, James threw out two Pokeballs and two Pokemon emerged. One was Weezing, a Pokemon that James had used against Ash and Misty quite a few times. The other was a living mass of garbage that Ash had seen once before.

"A Garbodor?" Ash observed, referring to the trash Pokemon.

"Yes, I raised it from a Trubbish I caught at Clear Water Lake." James revealed.

"That town with the Trubbish outbreak." Ash recalled. "You were there?"

"At the same time as you and your little friends." James confirmed. "We've known you were coming for quite some time."

"So you guys have just been waiting here to ambush us!" Ash realized.

"And it's going quite well too." James told him. "Now then, shall we get started?"

"Get in there, Lucario." Ash ordered. The jackal Pokemon nodded and stepped up to the battlefield. "Go Golett!" The ghostly robot emerged from the thrown ball and stood by Lucario.

"Garbodor, use Sunny Day." James commanded.

Garbodor glowed with a golden aura, and from its body shot a beam of gold light into the air. The grey clouds above broke apart and the sun shinned down brightly on the battlefield.

"Sunny Day?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow. "What good is that move going to do?"

"You'll find out, Twerp." James replied with a confident smirk.

"Whatever." Ash scoffed. "Lucario, attack Weezing with Dragon Pulse!"

"Dodge and use Flamethrower!" James commanded.

Lucario threw a ball of blue-green light at Weezing, but the floating gasbag managed to move out of the attack's path at the last second. It then belched out a stream of green flames that hit Lucario in the chest and caused him to fall to one knee.

"What?" Ash exclaimed.

"Not so confident now, are we?" James gloated.

"Golett, attack Garbodor with Fire Punch!" Ash commanded, brushing off James' comment.

"Use Solar Beam Garbodor." James ordered.

Golett began to charge at Garbodor with a raised fist covered in flames. But before it could get close, the living trash mound fired a concentrated beam of sunlight from its mouth. The beam impacted Golett in the chest and knocked it on its back.

"So this is why you used Sunny Day." Ash realized as Golett got back up. "It powers up Fire-type moves and lets Solar Beam charge up faster."

"It seems you've made the grave mistake of underestimating me, just like you and Pikachu underestimated Persian." James gloated. "In case you still haven't realized it, we're not the same group you've fought in the past."

Ash mentally cursed, as he knew James was right. He had underestimated him. Even after seeing what Persian could do the day before he had continued to think of James and Jessie as the same incompetent criminals Ash had dealt with in the past. It never occurred to him that they might've improved as well. But it was clear that James had changed. He had learned strategy.

"You're right, I did underestimate you." Ash admitted. "You have gotten a lot better. But so have I! I haven't lost to you yet and I won't lose now!"

"We'll see about that! Weezing, hit Lucario again with Flamethrower!" James ordered.

"Golett!" Ash called out.

Weezing belched out another stream of green flames at a still kneeling Lucario. But at the last second Golett managed to get in the fire's path and block it with its body.

"Nice interception, but it won't save you." James said confidently.

"Maybe not, but this will! Lucario, use Bullet Punch on Weezing!" Ash commanded. "Golett, attack with Bulldoze!"

"Bad move! Weezing can't be affected by Ground-type moves thanks to his levitation ability. And though Bulldoze will hit Garbodor, it'll hit Lucario as well!" James pointed out.

"Not if Lucario isn't on the ground!" Ash retorted. "Go!"

On Ash's command, Lucario leapt into the air with his paw raised into a glowing fist. At the same time Golett stamped the ground with its foot, sending up a wave of earth across the battlefield. Garbodor was hit by the attack and stumbled. Meanwhile, Lucario's fist impacted on the center of Weezing's main forehead. After attacking, the jackal Pokemon flipped and landed on the ground behind Weezing.

"What?" a shocked James exclaimed.

"Looks like you underestimated me too." Ash smirked.

Just then, a blue light appeared in Lucario's right paw and formed into a rod-like shape. In moments the light faded and Lucario was holding a grey metal bone.

"What is that?" James wondered.

"I think Lucario just learned a new attack." Ash realized. "Okay then, let's try it out. Lucario, attack Garbodor with Bone Rush!"

With amazing speed, Lucario dashed at Garbodor and struck the trash mound in the side with his bone. Before Garbodor could recover, Lucario charged and hit it again. Lucario attacked once more and Garbodor fell to the ground unconscious.

"Impossible!" James denied.

"Now Golett, finish off Weezing with Fire Punch!" Ash commanded.

Golett leapt into the air with its fist raised. In less then as second the fist became covered in fire. The flaming punch impacted Weezing, knocking him to the ground. The gasbag Pokemon was out cold.

"No! How can this be?" James demanded to know.

"Looks like your Sunny Day attack backfired on you." Ash smugly told him. "It powered up Golett's Fire Punch. Plus Golett's Iron Fist ability gives its punching moves a power boost."

"Fine, I'll let you have this victory." James conceded as he called back his two Pokemon. "But this is far from over! Go Growlie!"

Coming out of the newest ball that James threw was a large dog with red-orange fur with black stripes almost like a tiger. Its snout, chest, and tail were covered in cream-colored fur, a large mass of which was also on the top of its head. The same sort of cream-colored fur grew from the backs of its legs in tufts.

"An Arcanine?" a shocked Ash identified. "Wait a minute… is that…?"

"Yes, this was the Growlithe I had as a boy." James confirmed before Ash could finish his question. "I had left him at home to look after my parents, but with them dead I took him back. And after we trained for a while I decided to evolve him. Now Growlie! Trap the twerp and his Pokemon with Fire Spine!"

Growlie breathed out a stream of flames at the ground, and before Ash and his two Pokemon could do anything they were surrounded on all sides by a wall of flames. Through the roar of the fire Ash could hear James laughing.

"Don't worry, the flames will die down eventually." James assured them. "But by the time they do, my darling wife will have finished with your friends. Later, twerp!"

Though he could not see with his eyes through the burning wall that surrounded him, Ash had to assume that James and Growlie had quickly departed. But that was the least of his worries. For at that moment, Misty was in danger.

* * *

Back outside the forest, Misty and Chili had long since finished packing up camp. Misty was sitting on a log with Pikachu on her lap. A worried expression was on her face.

"Where is he?" Misty wondered.

"Maybe it's just taking Ash longer than he thought to find any berries." Chili tried assuring her.

"Berries are the least of his worries." A familiar voice told them.

Misty, Chili, and Pikachu all looked to see standing a few feet away a woman with long purplish-red hair held in a solid shape like the curve of a capital P or R. She wore a black suit jacket with a white shirt, black tie, a black skirt that ended just above the knee, and white heels. Pikachu immediately hopped off Misty's lap as she quickly stood up.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it twerpette?" the woman greeted to Misty.

"Jessie." Misty identified as her eyes narrowed in disgust.

* * *

**Author's Note:** So a little more of what happened to the trio was revealed in this chapter. One of the reason I decided to kill of James' parents was because they were nuts. I did not blame James one bit for running away from home. Of course he could've done better than joining an evil organization, but oh well. I had just remembered James' Growlithe in the middle of writing this chapter and decided I should work him in somewhere. My first thought was to include him in the battle, but that would've made the scene in the earlier chapter where James caught the Trubbish pointless. So instead he became a rather sinister getaway method.

Next chapter, the epic battle between Misty and Jessie. And a whole lot of trash talking. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	24. Wrathful Jessie

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 23: Wrathful Jessie

Ash had gotten himself into quite a bind. James had escaped and had trapped him using his Arcanine's Fire Spin attack in the process. And what was worse was that James had told him that Jessie was going after Misty. The wall of fire showed no signs of dying down. Ash's mind raced to try and find a way out. But each idea he came up with he quickly realized would be ineffective.

"Damn! I don't have time for this!" Ash yelled.

_'Calm down Ash.'_ A familiar voice in Ash's mind told him. _'Use the Aura. Focus.'_

"Riley?" Ash asked after hearing the voice. He looked to Lucario and the two nodded to each other after a moment. "Let's do this Lucario."

The jackal Pokemon barked in agreement. After Ash called Golett back to its ball, the two took a deep breath and closed their eyes. Soon a barrier of blue light formed around them and began to expand outward. The wall of light pushed into the wall of fire and extinguished it.

"C'mon, we have to get to Misty and the others!" Ash told Lucario as he dashed off. Lucario made a barking noise as he ran after him.

* * *

Misty stood glaring at Jessie for an uncertain amount of time. Jessie meanwhile looked back with her hand on her hip and a confident expression on her face. Chili and Pikachu meanwhile did nothing to break the silence between the two ladies. For the tension in the air was so thick one could almost see it.

"You seem to have changed somewhat since we last saw each other." Jessie commented. "Nice to see that you've gotten rid of that ridiculous ponytail on the side of your head."

"Yeah? Well you still look like an old hag." Misty shot back.

"How dare you?" Jessie replied almost shouting as her original confident expression was instantly replaced by one of utter fury.

"Where's Ash?" Misty demanded to know.

"Oh, worried about him I see." Jessie observed as her confident smirk returned. "Right now he should be busy dealing with my husband."

"Wait, someone actually married you?" a surprised Misty asked.

"Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jessie yelled. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "If you must know, James and I got married some time ago."

"Probably the only guy who'd take you." Misty sarcastically assumed. "Unless of course you found a guy who was blind and deaf."

"Hey! I'm a thousand times more attractive than a little stick like you could ever hope to be!" Jessie shot back.

"What the hell did you just call me?" Misty yelled.

"I'm not sure which one I'm more afraid of." Chili whispered to Pikachu.

"Chu." Pikachu replied in agreement as he looked on with wide eyes.

"Well at least I don't use more makeup than a clown!" Misty fired back. "Do us all a favor and go back to your street corner!"

"Oh that is it! You're dead brat!" Jessie shouted.

"Bring it on!" Misty dared. "That is why you came here, right?"

"Before I was considering going easy on you. But after that last comment I'm going to make you suffer!" Jessie declared. "By the time I'm through with you, you'll be begging for mercy!"

At that moment, a Pokemon spontaneously emerged from one of the balls on Jessie's belt. It was a blue almost blob-like creature with paddle-like arms and four stubby legs at its base. The thing had a black beaver-like tail with a pair of eyes. Its face consisted of a pair of squinting eyes and a crooked mouth.

"Wobbuffet." The Pokemon said as it brought its arm up to its forehead like it was saluting.

"Oh yeah, I'm really trembling." Misty replied with a sarcastic smirk.

"You stay out of this!" Jessie yelled at Wobbuffet. She then pulled out a pair of Pokeballs. "Go Arbok, Seviper!"

Two snake-like Pokemon emerged from the thrown balls. The first, Arbok, was a large purple cobra with a black, red, and yellow design that looked like a monstrous face. The second Pokemon, Seviper, was a black snake what was not quite as large as Arbok. It had red eyes and a pair of long red fangs protruding from its mouth. A jagged purple stripe adorned the front of its neck, with a similar purple shape on the snout. The serpent's jaw was gold and it had a series of gold spots running from the top of its snout down its back. Seviper's tail ended in a red blade.

"Go Politoed, Palpitoad!" Misty called as she threw out her own pair of Pokeballs. The two amphibians emerged to face the pair of snakes. "Let's end this quick so I can go help Ash!"

"Like that'll happen! Use Toxic!" Jessie ordered the two serpents.

Arbok and Seviper opened their mouths and sprayed the two frogs with a purple liquid. Politoed and Palpitoad immediately became ill.

"Oh no!" Chili exclaimed as he stood up from where he was sitting.

"Now follow up with Venoshock!" Jessie commanded.

Both snakes opened their mouths again and spat out globs of green liquid. The vile projectiles hit Politoed and Palpitoad in the face. Both frogs began to cringe as purple sparks crackled on their bodies. Jessie's shrill laughter cut the air.

"Not so tough now, are we little girl?" Jessie taunted.

"Politoed, hit Arbok with Scald!" Misty commanded. "Palpitoad, attack Seviper with Mud Shot!"

Politoed sprayed a thick stream of piping hot water at Arbok, hitting the cobra in the center of its hood. Palpitoad meanwhile spat out a thick ball of mud at Seviper. But the black serpent quickly weaved out of the path of the attack.

"Fire back with another Venoshock!" Jessie ordered.

Arbok recovered from Politoed's attack and joined Seviper in spitting globs of toxic green gunk at the two frogs. Both blobs hit their targets, causing the frogs to cry out in pain.

"Hang in there!" a worried Misty told the two frogs. Jessie's shrill laugh rang through the air once again.

"You probably thought this would be an easy battle, didn't you brat?" Jessie gloated. "In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm far from the same woman you've fought in the past. I take things far more seriously now."

Misty had to admit that Jessie had indeed changed. Her attacks had become more aggressive and debilitating. And if she didn't do something soon she'd be finished.

"Time to wrap things up." Jessie decided. "Arbok, use Giga Drain on Palpitoad! And Seviper, use Poison Tail on Politoed!"

Both serpents began to slither towards the frogs at a fast pace. The blade on Seviper's tail began to glow with a purple light. Arbok meanwhile opened its mouth to reveal a set of glowing red fangs.

"Quick Politoed, use Swagger on Seviper!" Misty ordered.

Politoed crossed his arms and began to glow with a red aura. Seviper's eyes then glowed red and its slithering path began to wobble. Dazed, the black serpent came at Arbok and stuck the purple cobra with the blade of its tail.

"What?" a shocked Jessie exclaimed.

"You may take battle more seriously now Jessie, but you haven't been taking me seriously enough!" Misty declared.

Suddenly Palpitoad began to glow with a white light and change shape. When the light faded she had become a large bulky blue frog. She had two large black bumps with cyan spots on top above her red eyes. Similar bumps adorned her shoulders and forearms, and on her back were four smaller light-blue bumps.

"Yes! Palpitoad evolved into Seismitoad!" Chili happily exclaimed with a pump of his fist.

"Alright Seismitoad, hit Arbok with Mud Shot!" Misty commanded. "Politoed, use Bubble Beam on Seviper!"

Due to Seviper's confusion, both serpents had become entangled in each other. Seismitoad croaked out another ball of mud that hit Arbok in the face as the snakes flailed around. At the same time, Politoed fired a stream of bubbles that hit Seviper in the back of the head.

"Now Seismitoad, finish it with Muddy Water!" Misty ordered.

The blue toad Pokemon reared back her head and sprayed out a stream of thick murky brown water. The tide hit the tangled pair of snakes and washed them towards Jessie and Wobbuffet, knocking them to the ground. When it was over, Arbok and Seviper were out cold and still tangled up on top of Wobbuffet and a furious Jessie.

"Good work you two." Misty said to her pair of ill frogs as she called them back to their Pokeballs.

"Get off of me!" Jessie shouted as she threw the unconscious Arbok and Seviper off. The furious redhead called both Pokemon back to their balls. "This is far from over!"

"Misty!" a familiar voice called out.

Misty turned around and saw that Ash and Lucario had finally arrived. As quickly as she could she ran over to Ash's side.

"Where were you?" an upset Misty demanded to know.

"Sorry, my hands were a little full." Ash apologetically replied as he brushed her cheek with the back of his hand.

"Well, it seems you got out of that Fire Spin quicker than a thought." A familiar voice cut in. The group looked to see James arrive with Growlie.

"Darling, that little brat beat me!" Jessie angrily informed him.

"I was defeated as well." James regretfully reported. "But we're far from done."

"Oh you're done alright!" Misty declared as she threw another Pokeball. "Go Suicune!"

The legendary beast of water burst forth from the ball with a roar. It stood with its fangs bared and snarled at Growlie. The dog of fire growled back.

"So it seems the rumor we heard is true." James observed. "The twerpette does somehow have Suicune."

"Well that doesn't matter." Jessie replied confidently. "It may be legendary but we can still beat it."

"Not if I can help it! Go Ho-Oh!" Ash called as he threw out a ball of his own.

The great phoenix flew out of the ball with a shriek and hovered in the air before the duo. Jessie, James, and their Pokemon looked up in shock.

"How…?" Jessie started to ask.

"Go ahead, just try it!" Ash dared.

"We should retreat." James suggested.

"Fine!" Jessie agreed before throwing out another Pokeball. "Go Dustox!"

Flying into the air from Jessie's thrown ball was a fairly large moth-like creature with a purple cigar-shaped body and green tattered wings with red circles on them. It had four stubby red legs and a pair of yellow cigar-shaped antenna. It's yellow compound eyes were almost goggle-like.

"Use Flash!" Jessie ordered the moth.

In seconds Dustox's eyes flashed and a blind white light filled the area. When the light faded after a moment and Ash and the others uncovered their eyes, the ex-members of Team Rocket were long gone.

"That was a close call." Ash declared.

"You're telling me." Misty agreed. "I nearly lost to Jessie earlier."

"Maybe we should get going before those guys come back." Chili suggested.

"Good idea." Ash agreed. "The sooner we get to Nimbasa City, the better."

* * *

Jessie and James arrived at the black airship that they and their companions were using as a mode of transport through Unova. They came to the dark rear cabin to find the mysterious woman sitting in the darkness reading a book. Persian was there as well on top of a table by the window reading a book on medieval torture. The woman and cat looked up from their books upon noticing the duo's return.

"How'd it go?" Persian asked.

"The bad news is we both lost." James reported. "But the good news is we did quite a bit of damage to them I battle."

"Well that's something." The woman in the dark told them encouragingly. "What about what we heard of the girl having a Suicune?"

"She has Suicune alright." Jessie confirmed. "But there's more. The twerp with the Pikachu has Ho-Oh."

"Come again?" Persian asked as his eyes widened in surprise.

"You heard right." James replied. "Jessie and I decided it was time to leave when he sent it out."

"This is an interesting development." The mystery woman mused. "If anything, I suppose this proves what we've been thinking for quite some time. It's not that the boy you three were chasing for all that time has an extraordinary Pikachu. But rather that he's an extraordinary trainer. Amazing how we of Team Rocket never once considered that the human factor in raising Pokemon to be important."

"So what now mother?" Jessie asked.

"I think I'd like to see this young man in action for myself." Jessie's mother replied as she stood up from her chair. "We'll just see how he fairs against me, the former elite agent of Team Rocket, Miyamoto."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So far this has been the chapter in the Ex-Team Rocket arc that's been the most fun to write. I really enjoyed having two characters with hair-trigger tempers like Misty and Jessie face off. The battle itself proved to be a little hard though for some reason. But one thing I had decided on from the beginning was for Jessie to use both Arbok and Seviper. It's a pity those two were never used together in the anime.

In the next chapter the Ex-Team Rocket arc reaches its thrilling conclusion. And it's going to have a bit of a twist, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	25. Legendary Miyamoto

**Author's Note:** Here we are at last, the final chapter of the Ex-Team Rocket arc. The battle in this chapter was a little hard to come up with since at this point Ash pretty much resolved to use Ho-Oh against our antagonists. But I think the solution I came up with will be an interesting twist.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 24: Legendary Miyamoto

Ash and the others had gotten on the road as quickly as they could after their encounter with Jessie and James. They had given up on restocking their supply of berries and just kept moving. The three had a lot of ground to cover before nightfall and could not afford to rest. Not with such powerful enemies on their tail. The sky above had become thick with clouds once more since getting back on the road. It did not seem like it would rain, but rain was the least of their worries.

"Hey guys, I was just wondering. Why didn't you use Ho-Oh and Suicune against Jessie, James, and Persian as soon as they showed up?" Chili inquired.

"Because we honestly didn't think we'd need them." Ash admitted. "Those three were a lot different when we fought them in the past. I mean they were a little hard to beat at first, but really they were pushovers."

"Yeah, they'd usually use some hair-brained gadget or clumsy robot to pull off their schemes." Misty added. "It got to be a bit of a pain after a while. But it'd always end with Pikachu blowing them up and sending them flying."

"Remember that dumb motto they'd recite every time they showed up?" Ash recalled. "That thing usually took about five minutes."

"You know thinking back on it, that would've been the perfect time to get rid of those three." Misty realized. "Just blow them away while they're performing that little song and dance."

"No kidding." Ash agreed. "But those days are over now. Look at what's happened. Pikachu's in no shape to fight, Lucario and Golett are banged up, and Politoed and Seismitoad have had it. We might as well face it, they're not the same trio that they were before."

"I know. They don't even seem interested in stealing our Pokemon anymore." Misty noted.

"But if they don't want to steal Pikachu or any of your other Pokemon, what're these guys after then?" Chili wondered.

"Don't know, don't care." Ash told him. "All I care about is getting as far away from those three as we can."

"Then I'm afraid you're out of luck, my dear boy." A deep refined voice interrupted. They looked and saw Jessie, James, Persian, and Wobbuffet standing nearby off to the side of the path.

"So now you've come to fight us all at once?" Misty assumed.

"Oh we're done battling for today." Jessie assured her. "Right now there's someone special we'd like you to meet."

Walking out in front of the group from behind a tree next to the road was a somewhat older-looking woman with ruby-red lips and long purple hair that split at the back like a V and curled at the ends. A short streak of grey ran through her hair beginning over the left side of her forehead. Her outfit consisted of an unusual pantsuit with a pink blouse, a jacket that was white on the right side and black on the left, and pants that were black on the right side and white on the left. She also had on black shoes, a string of white pearls around her neck, and a pair of orange earrings in the shape of balls.

"Who're you?" Ash demanded to know.

"I'm Jessie's mother, Miyamoto." The woman answered.

"You mean they actually found you?" a surprised Misty asked.

"We never said that we didn't find her." Persian pointed out.

"There is a resemblance between Jessie and this woman." Chili noted as he looked from Jessie to Miyamoto.

"Yeah, they both look like old hags." Misty commented.

"Watch your mouth, brat!" Miyamoto and Jessie shouted at the same time.

"Oh yeah, they're related all right." Ash confirmed. "So what, you've come to help your daughter get her revenge?"

"I guess you say that." Miyamoto replied. "But I guess my main objective was simply to meet the brats who caused my darling Jessie so much grief."

"Having to fight those three off was no picnic for us either, lady." Misty retorted.

"I suppose not." Miyamoto chuckled. "If it's any consolation I never wanted Jessie to join Team Rocket."

"Why didn't you stop her then?" Ash asked.

"The short answer is because I wasn't there to stop her." Miyamoto answered. "Plus I wasn't the best role model to begin with I guess. You see I was a member of Team Rocket too. I joined not long after Jessie's dead-beat of a father abandoned us. At the time I saw joining the organization as the chance to give my daughter a better life. The money I'd make sealing rare Pokemon would've been enough to set us both for life.

"So I worked hard, and eventually I had become an elite agent in the organization. I was the right-hand gal to Madam Boss. But then I was handed a mission that was probably a mistake to accept. Madam Boss wanted me go find and capture the elusive Pokemon known as Mew, a Pokemon that at the time was thought by many to be nothing but a mirage. Finding and catching Mew would've meant a fortune, maybe much more. So I set off on a quest to capture it."

"And you just left Jessie behind?" a somewhat outraged Misty asked.

"Let me get one thing straight right now, I had always planed to come back for Jessie." Miyamoto told them. "But I couldn't take her with me, the trip was too dangerous. So I left her in the care of a friend, who I learned ended up dumping her in some orphanage, and told her I'd be back soon. Jessie of course had no idea I was part of Team Rocket, or why I was leaving. But not once did I look back. Though I guess maybe I should've.

"I followed every lead on Mew the organization had and ended up in some far-off mountains. Pretty early in the trip I had gotten myself lost in a blizzard. But then suddenly it cleared up, and that's when I saw it."

"You mean Mew?" Ash asked.

"That's right kid." Miyamoto confirmed. "I guess it was curious about me. That's the only reason I can think of why it revealed itself. I tried the diplomatic approach with Mew. I asked it to come with me so I could return home to Jessie. But the little thing just flew off and that blizzard returned. And then after that I nearly killed myself falling off a cliff. I guess it was at that point when I became obsessed with catching Mew."

"So what happened?" Chili inquired.

"I ended up spending years wandering through those god-forsaken mountain looking for Mew and not finding it." Miyamoto went on. "I'd report in to the home base by radio every now and then like a good little soldier. Then after a long time, whom should I run into but my long lost daughter, her boyfriend, and some weird talking Persian. It wasn't exactly what many would consider a heart-warming reunion. As soon as we met, Jessie slapped me and asked me where the hell I was all those years, why I never told her I was a member of Team Rocket. She had every right to react that way, especially after the hell she went through.

"I've gained a real appreciation for irony in recent years. I had quickly realized that not only had I become so obsessed with chasing after Mew that I had lost sight of what was really important, but also in leaving Jessie alone I caused her to have a life that was the last thing I ever wanted for her. Even more ironic was that she started chancing after a Pokemon she'd never be able to get, just like what I was doing. Chip off the old block I guess.

"So my priorities changed with that little reunion. I immediately resigned from Team Rocket; or rather I faked my death. It was pretty easy to do since the organization pretty much abandoned me anyway after that brat Giovanni took it over. After that I devoted myself to spending time with my daughter. I even ended up training her and her two friends to become stronger. Being a former elite member of Team Rocket I did know a thing or two about Pokemon battles. The later on, James came into some serious money, and that was when another irony had occurred. By no longer being a part of Team Rocket we had all gotten everything we wanted out of life."

"And still even after all that you guys still want revenge." Ash pointed out.

"Revenge, I suppose that is a part of all this." Miyamoto mused. "But it's actually not the main reason."

"What we really wanted is to see how strong we've become." Jessie revealed.

"And to see just what it is that makes you twerps so strong." James added. "We wanted to know if it was simply because you had an extraordinary Pikachu, or if it was something else."

"From what we've learned, it seems like it truly is something else." Miyamoto went on. "Here we have a boy who not only has a stronger than average Pikachu and an equally strong Lucario, he has the mythical Ho-Oh too. Plus one of his companions has the legendary Suicune. Not ordinary Pokemon Trainers if you ask me."

"So what now?" Ash asked.

"What's your name kid?" Miyamoto inquired.

"Ash Ketchum." He replied as he narrowed his eyes.

"Okay Ash, I want to see this power of yours for myself." Miyamoto told him.

"You're challenging me to a battle?" Ash asked.

"That's right, you and that Ho-Oh of yours." Miyamoto confirmed. "And you've probably already figured this out, but I won't be taking no for an answer."

"It'll be a pretty short battle if I use Ho-Oh." Ash told her.

"Don't be so sure kid." Miyamoto said as she pulled a Pokeball from her pocket. "Come on out my precious!"

Ash and his friends were utterly stunned by the Pokemon that had emerged from Miyamoto's thrown ball. It was a small pink cat-like creature that floated in the air. It had a somewhat large head and a pair of prominent baby-blue eyes. Its arms were short and had tiny fingers, while its hind feet were large like that of a rabbit. Its tail was long and cord-like, making the Pokemon look almost like a human fetus.

"Mew." The feline Pokemon cried in a high voice.

"No way!" Chili exclaimed. Ash got out his Pokedex to confirm what he and the others were seeing.

"Mew, the New Species Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Scientists have found that Mew's DNA contains the traits off every other Pokemon species."

"You actually caught a Mew?" a still shocked Ash asked.

"I know, right? It's another one of my life's great ironies." Miyamoto chuckled. "About as soon as I quit Team Rocket, Mew appeared before me again. I'm not sure if this is the same Mew I encountered all those years ago or not, but it challenged me to a battle. And when all was said and done I caught it. So kid, do you still think it'll be a quick battle?"

Suddenly Mew's expression changed from calm and innocent to one that was eager for battle. Ash knew that it wasn't going to be an easy fight, for he was facing one of the most powerful Legendary Pokemon of them all. And Miyamoto's Mew didn't seem like a pushover.

"I guess there's no choice. Go Ho-Oh!" Ash called as he threw out his Pokeball. The great bird emerged from its ball with a shriek. "Attack Mew with Sacred Fire!"

Ho-Oh's eyes began to glow blue and its body quickly became covered in rosy flames. With a flap of its wings, Ho-Oh sent the blaze it created at Mew. The psychic cat flew at top speed away from the attack but was caught by the tail. When it was over, Mew was left with a wound on its rear.

"Looks like Mew was burned." Ash observed.

"Yes, too bad for you." Miyamoto replied with a smirk.

Mew smirked as well and its eyes briefly glowed with a blue light. Suddenly Ho-Oh shrieked in pain.

"What just happened?" Ash demanded to know. Miyamoto broke into a shrill annoying laugh as she brought the back of her hand to her cheek.

"What happened was my darling Mew's ability, Synchronize." Miyamoto explained. "When its hit with something like burns or poisoning, Mew sends those ailments right back at the enemy. Which means Ho-Oh just got burned by its own attack."

"I suppose you could call that a sacred backfire." Persian joked on the sidelines.

"Not funny!" Misty told the talking feline.

"Even if Ho-Oh is burned, Mew's still burned too." Ash pointed out.

"Not for long." Miyamoto told him.

As if on cue, Mew suddenly produced a small green berry and quickly ate it. In an instant Mew's burn was completely healed.

"No way! Mew just ate a Lum Berry!" Chili realized.

"That's right, that berry cures any kind of ailment." Miyamoto confirmed. "Now Mew, attack Ho-Oh with Psychic!"

Mew's eyes glowed blue and suddenly Ho-Oh was frozen midair by a blue aura. Mew looked down, and with the movement of its head the great bird was hurled down to the earth. The psychic cat looked up and Ho-Oh was hurled up into the air. Mew then brought its gaze forward and Ho-Oh was held in place before it. The end of the psychic feline's tail began to twirl and suddenly Ho-Oh began to spin around at high speed. When the phoenix finally stopped spinning, Mew brought its gaze downward, causing Ho-Oh to crash back down to earth. Mew's eyes stopped glowing and it began to snicker, accompanied by Miyamoto's shrill laugh. After a moment Ho-Oh flew back up into the air with fury-filled eyes.

"Aw man! That Mew is a bad-ass!" Chili declared. "It threw Ho-Oh around like it was a toy!"

"Ho-Oh, use Sunny Day followed by Solar Beam!" Ash commanded.

The great bird cried out as its body began to glow with a golden aura. Ho-Oh shot a beam of gold light into the sky and in an instant the light of the sun broke the clouds overhead. Powered by the light of the sun, Ho-Oh fired a beam from its open beak and managed to hit Mew in the chest. The psychic cat quickly recovered though and flew back into the air at the great bird.

"Time to make things more interesting. Use Transform!" Miyamoto commanded.

Mew began to glow white and its body began to expand and morph. When the light faded, Mew had become an exact duplicate of Ho-Oh.

"Mew can use Transform?" a shocked Ash exclaimed.

"I was surprised when I found out too." Miyamoto confirmed. "I suppose Transform I one of the reasons why Mew is so elusive. One never knows if the Pokemon they're looking at is a common Pidgy or a rare Legendary Pokemon."

"Why would Miyamoto have Mew transform?" Misty wondered.

"Because now Mew has more resistance to Ho-Oh's attacks." Chili explained.

"But now Mew's attacks aren't as effective." Misty pointed out.

"True, but Ho-Oh's also taken a good amount of damage. Plus it's suffering from that burn." Chili reminded her. "They're attacks can still damage each other, but it'll be a long drawn-out fight. Ho-Oh may not last that long."

"Ho-Oh, use Future Sight followed by another Solar Beam!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh's eyes glowed briefly with a blue light before flying at its doppelganger and shooting another blast. The enemy Ho-Oh began to fly out of the way but was grazed in the back by the beam.

"Fire back with your own Solar Beam!" Miyamoto ordered.

The enemy Ho-Oh came around and blasted its counterpart with its own beam of sunlight. Ho-Oh quickly moved to avoid the strike but was grazed over the top of the right wing.

"Attack with Sacred Fire!" Ash and Miyamoto commanded at the same time.

Both birds shrieked and became shrouded in flames as their eyes glowed blue once again. With a flap of their wings the sky overhead became a massive sea of flames. It was several moments before the blaze finally ended. When it did end, both birds were in the air panting and glaring at one another.

"I can't tell which Ho-Oh is the real one." A worried Misty admitted as she watched on.

"Whichever one it is, it looks like they've both taken a lot of damage." Chili noted.

Suddenly, one of the two firebirds cried out in pain as its body glowed with a blue aura and was surrounded by a twister. When the twister faded, the stricken Ho-Oh fell to the ground unconscious and reverted to Mew.

"What the…?" a shocked Miyamoto asked.

"Right after Mew transformed I had Ho-Oh use Future Sight." Ash explained. "It's an attack that doesn't strike right away. I wasn't sure about how much damage Mew took before transforming, but hoped Future Sight would be enough to finish it off."

Miyamoto chuckled a bit as she called Mew back to its ball. "Not bad at all kid. It's no wonder that you gave my daughter so much trouble."

"So now what? Another round?" Ash asked.

"No, we're done here." Miyamoto answered. "My family and I have learned all that we needed to. Haven't we Jessie dear?"

"Yes mother." Jessie agreed.

"Time for us to be off then." Miyamoto decided.

"Wait, you're just leaving?" a surprised Ash asked.

"That's right, brat." Miyamoto confirmed. "While this has been fun, we do have a business to run."

"Stealing Pokemon?" Ash asked as his eyes narrowed.

"We've left that sort of thing far behind us." James revealed. "Now a days we do various 'odd jobs' so to speak. But our main business is in bounty hunting."

"Bringing in criminals for money has proven to be far more profitable than stealing Pokemon." Jessie added.

"I thought you guys were already rich." Misty recalled.

"Oh you can never have enough money, dear." Miyamoto chuckled. "Anyway, perhaps we'll run into each other again one day. But for now this is goodbye. Jessie dear, if you please."

"Go Dustox!" Jessie called as she threw out a Pokeball. The moth Pokemon emerged and flew up into the air. "Use Flash!"

Dustox lit the area with a blinding white light. When the light finally cleared, Miyamoto and the other ex-Team Rocket members were long gone. An exhausted Ho-Oh landed back on the ground next to Ash and the others.

"Well, I guess we can relax now." Misty assumed. "Is a little weird the way all this ended though."

"Tell me about it." Ash agreed. "But I'm just glad we don't have to deal with them anymore."

"Think we'll run into them again?" Chili wondered.

"I sure hope not." Misty replied. "I've had enough of those four to last a lifetime."

"At least they're not hunting us anymore though." Ash pointed out.

"Well, since those guys are finally gone, why don't we stop here for awhile to rest?" Chili suggested.

"I'm all for that." Misty replied.

"Sounds good to me too." Ash agreed. "We could all use a rest after what we've been though."

"How soon should we get back on the road?" Misty asked.

"I'm in no hurry I guess." Ash shrugged. "After all, it's not like Nimbasa City's going anywhere."

* * *

**Author's Note:** As I mentioned earlier, the biggest dilemma I had with this chapter was making the battle challenging for Ash. A little hard to do with Ho-Oh in his arsenal. But a couple things occurred to me. The first was that the anime seemed to imply that there's more than one Mew out there. And the second thing was the idea of what if Miyamoto had actually captured Mew. Anyway, I greatly enjoyed writing this story arc. It was fun touching on something that the anime never really did. They should've had Jessie's mother appear in an episode.

But now that this arc is over, up next the appearance of one of my favorite Unova gym leaders. Not to mention a startling development with Bianca. So stay tuned. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	26. Coach Noir Mask

**Author's Note:** I think I may have mentioned this before, but one of the fun parts of doing this story is taking an event from the Black and White anime and turning it on its head. Those familiar with BW anime might recall the episode where Bianca's overprotective father tries to drag her home when she challenges Elesa. That's going to happen here too, only with a very different ending. Before moving on though, I'd like to review the chronology of the stories that make up this AU.

_Trial of the Phoenix/Rise of Noir Mask, Scourge of Galactic, Best Wishes Revised/I Was a Teenage Jenny/Memories of Maiden's Peak, Fire for Ice, Revenge of Noir Mask, Half Moon Bay, and Dawn of Shadows._

The title of this chapter should be a major hint to why I did this little refresher.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 25: Coach Noir Mask

It had been a long road, but after weeks of traveling Ash and his friends had finally arrived at Nimbasa City. Upon their arrival the group immediately headed for the Pokemon Center. They had decided to rest there for a day rather than go straight to city's local gym, as they were still more or less fresh from their encounters with Jessie, James, Persian, and Miyamoto. But the following day the group decided to set out for their main reason for coming to the city. They exited the Pokemon Center that morning to head for the gym, only for Misty to stop next to a large fountain outside the building as she rummaged through her bag.

"What's wrong Misty?" Ash asked.

"Shoot! I think I left something up in my room." Misty answered as she finished rummaging through her bag. "I'm gonna go look for it. Only take me a second."

"Okay, we'll wait here." Ash replied before Misty headed back into the building. "So, I wonder what kind of Pokemon this city's gym leader uses?"

"Beats me. I don't even know who the gym leader is." Chili replied with a shrug.

Suddenly Pikachu's ears perked up to a distant sound. He glanced back and quickly hopped off of Ash's shoulder and went next to Lucario.

"Hey buddy, what's up?" Ash asked his electric companion.

A split second later in answer to his question, Ash and Chili suddenly heard a noise like something was stampeding towards them. They looked back, and coming at them like a runaway train was a familiar blond wearing a green hat, leaving a thick cloud of dust in her wake.

"Outta the way! Outta the way! OUTTA THE WAY!" Bianca called out as she continued to barrel towards them.

Quicker than Ash could react, Bianca tripped falling forward onto him like a domino. Just as it was at the start of their last two encounters their faces were only inches away from one another. Misty reemerged from the Pokemon Center to once again find Ash and Bianca on the ground. Her expression turned to one of murderous rage as her hands balled into fists at her sides. Just like before, Misty stormed over and kicked Bianca off of Ash into the fountain and yanked Ash to his feet by the collar of his shirt.

"Why do you always do that Misty?" Bianca asked almost shouting as she got out of the fountain.

"Bianca, what're you doing here?" Misty demanded to know.

"Hey Misty?" Chili cut in.

"WHAT?" Misty shouted.

"Nothing." Chili quickly replied in a high voice.

"Well I'm here in the city to have a gym battle." Bianca answered a little more calmly.

"You'll have to wait until Ash is finished." Misty told her.

"Actually Misty…" Ash began to say.

"Shut up!" Misty snapped.

"Okay." Ash quickly replied.

"No, he's going to have to wait until I'm done!" Bianca argued. "I called ahead and made an appointment."

"Look, why don't we just go to the gym and let the gym leader decide who goes first?" Ash managed to suggest.

"Fine!" Misty and Bianca agreed together as they stormed off in the direction of the gym.

"Chili, I have a feeling it's gonna be one of those days." Ash said with a heavy sigh.

"Oh yeah." Chili agreed as they began following after Misty and Bianca.

A few minutes later the group had reached the gym, a two-story building with a green roof and tan brick walls. Upon reaching the door of the gym though they found a sign saying that it was closed.

"No! The gym can't be closed!" Bianca complained.

"So much for your appointment." Misty gloated.

"You know Misty, this is kind of a bummer for me too." Ash pointed out.

"Hey, according to the sign the gym leader is away at a fashion show." Chili informed them as he took a closer look at the sign.

"Why would the gym leader be at a fashion show?" Ash wondered.

"Oh! I know." Bianca answered as she pulled a magazine out of her bag. "The gym leader Elesa is also a super model. I read something about that in here."

"So what do we do now?" Misty wondered.

"I guess we go check out this fashion show." Ash shrugged.

* * *

A bit later the group had arrived at the building where the fashion show was being held. Inside they found themselves in a large crowed of people, many of who were flashing cameras. Before them in the large dark hall was a runway illuminated by spotlights. Stepping onto the runway from behind the red curtain was a young woman with short blond hair, pale blue eyes, fair skin, and a lithe figure. On her head was a pair of large silver headphones with two long black cords that looked almost like ling pigtails. The outfit the model was wearing at the moment was a strapless dark burgundy dress with a short skirt and a red belt.

"Wow! That's really Elesa the gym leader?" Chili asked with awe as he looked up at the super model.

"She's so pretty." Bianca commented.

"Yeah." Misty agreed. "And quite the dress too. Don't you think Ash?"

"It'd sure look beautiful on you." Ash replied somewhat absent-mindedly, causing Misty to blush.

The group watched as Elesa went on and off the catwalk in different outfits. As she came out wearing a red shirt over a white top with a pair of tight black jeans, Elesa glanced into the audience and noticed Ash and Pikachu. Suddenly she leapt into the crowed and landed right in front of Ash.

"What an adorable Pikachu." Elesa commented. "It simply sparkles and shines like the sun."

"Uh, thanks." Ash replied. "I'm Ash, by the way. I actually came here to challenge you to a gym battle."

"Oh of course, and you came to the gym only to find it closed." Elesa realized. "Sorry about that."

"Um, I came to challenge you to a battle too Elesa." Bianca spoke up. "My name's Bianca."

"Oh right, Bianca Edmonds. You made the appointment." Elesa recalled. "Well, why don't you all come down to the gym later this afternoon and we'll have your battle first. You don't mind waiting awhile, do you Ash?"

"Not at all." Ash agreed. "It'll give me a chance to see what you can do."

* * *

Afternoon came and the group arrived back at the gym to find it open. What they found inside though was a small room with yellow walls and what looked to be a red rollercoaster car.

"I guess we have to ride that car to go further into the gym." Chili deduced.

"Well, what're we waiting for then?" Ash asked as they all got in.

Ash and Misty took the front seats while Bianca and Chili took the remaining two seats in the back. The car soon took off down the track taking them through a dark tunnel that led into a sort of indoor carnival illuminated by bright neon lights of all colors. Zooming quickly down the winding track the car soon took them over the park into another tunnel that led to a dark room.

"I wanna go again!" Bianca declared.

Suddenly the room was lit by single spotlight. Standing under it with her hand on her hip was Elesa, wearing a pair of long tight black pants with a black choker and a bright yellow sleeveless top that extended down past her waist. The top was open a bit in front and held together by three thick black v-shaped straps in strategic spots.

"Welcome." Elesa greeted.

"I'm ready for my gym battle." Bianca said eagerly as she hopped out of the rollercoaster car.

"Before we get to that, there's someone here who'd like to see you." Elesa revealed.

A pair of purple electric doors adorned with a yellow lightning bolt slid open behind Elesa. Standing behind them was a portly gentleman with brown hair wearing a grey suit with a red tie.

"Hi." The gentleman greeted with a wave.

"Daddy?" a surprised Bianca identified. "What're you doing here?"

"I came to bring you home Bianca." Mr. Edmonds answered as he approached.

"But you can't!" Bianca told him. "You said I could go on a Pokemon journey!"

"I did, but I think I may have been premature to allow you to go." Mr. Edmonds replied. "A Pokemon journey can be very dangerous and I just don't think you're ready."

"Uh, excuse me Mr. Edmonds," Misty cut in, "but isn't Bianca sixteen? I mean most kids become Pokemon trainers at ten."

"What's your name young lady?" Mr. Edmonds asked.

"Misty." She answered.

"Well Misty, you are right about Bianca being sixteen. But she still lacks proper judgment." Mr. Edmonds argued. "Until she learns that I can't let her continue on her journey."

"I won't go back home!" Bianca argued fiercely.

"Bianca…" Mr. Edmonds began to scold.

"No! I'm going to continue my journey and enter the Unova League!" Bianca told him.

"Maybe I can offer a solution. Why don't we use Bianca's gym battle to decide whether she should go home or not?" Elesa suggested. "If she wins, she can continue on her journey. And if she loses, she goes home."

"That sounds fair." Mr. Edmonds agreed. "So how 'bout it Bianca, do you promise to go home if you lose?"

"But Daddy…" Bianca began to argue.

"It's either this or we just go home now." Mr. Edmonds told her.

"…Fine." Bianca finally agreed after realizing she had no choice in the matter.

"Let's get this show on the road then." Elesa decided as she led the group to the arena.

"I didn't expect you to stand up for Bianca like that." Ash told Misty. "I thought you like her."

"It's not that I don't like her, it's just…" Misty began to explain. "It's complicated. But I just don't think her father has the right to just force her to come home."

"I don't think so either." Ash agreed. "And there's way too much at stake on this gym battle."

"Seems like it's out of our hands though." Chili pointed out. "All we can do is watch and hope that Bianca wins."

In moments the group was led into a large stadium with stands filled with cheering fans. The fans all seemed to be girls, many of who were dressed like Elesa. The fans cheered louder as Elesa took her position on the battlefield.

"Hello everyone!" Elesa greeted the audience with a wave. "Get ready to watch me glow!"

Bianca nervously took her own position on the battlefield while Ash and the others stayed behind to watch from the sidelines. Mr. Edmonds stood a few feet away from them. In moments the referee, a woman with short brown hair wearing an outfit similar to Elesa's, walked onto the field.

"This match will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle!" the referee announced. "Only the challenger will be allowed to switch Pokemon! Begin!"

"Let's shine Zebstrika!" Elesa called as she threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was a black horse with lightning bolt-shaped stripes running along its back, chest, and legs. Running down its back from the top of its head was a jagged white mane that ended in a tail that resembled lightning striking the ground. Unsure of what to do, Bianca took out her Pokedex to find out a little more about what she was up against.

"Zebstrika, the Thunderbolt Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "When angered, this Pokemon will run wild and fired bolts of electricity from its mane randomly in all directions."

"Okay then." Bianca decided after taking a big gulp. "Go Minccino!" The grey rodent Pokemon emerged from the thrown ball onto the battlefield. "Use Swift!"

"Dodge and use Flame Charge!" Elesa ordered.

Minccino jumped up into the air and fired a barrage of yellow stars from his right paw. Zebstrika galloped out of the way before the stars could hit, creating an explosion on the ground where the electric zebra stood only moments ago. As soon as Minccino landed back on the ground, Zebstrika dashed at him at top speed, its body becoming shrouded in flames as it did. Minccino was run over before he could get out of the way.

"Now attack with Double Kick!" Elesa commanded.

Zebstrika came around for another pass. About the second Minccino had gotten back to his feet he was kicked hard by Zebstrika's powerful hind legs. The force of the kick hurled Minccino into the air. The grey rodent crashed hard into the earth. Yet by some miracle he managed to get back up.

"Let's wrap this up Zebstrika!" Elesa decided. "Dazzle Minccino with your Wild Charge!"

The electric zebra began to barrel towards Minccino again and its body became shrouded in yellow electricity. Zebstrika ran down Minccino again, and this time Minccino did not get up.

"Minccino is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The first round goes to Elesa and Zebstrika!"

The audience cheered loudly in approval with this result. Bianca meanwhile called Minccino back to his ball.

"That Zebstrika's a powerful Pokemon." Ash commented grimly.

"Yeah, and it doesn't seem like Bianca's head is really in the game." Chili added.

"Who can blame her with everything that's at stake on this battle?" Misty pointed out. "And all these fans cheering for Elesa can't be helping."

"Go Pignite!" Bianca called as she threw out her next Pokeball. The fire pig wrestler burst out of the ball to face Zebstrika. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Dodge and use Flame Charge!" Elesa commanded.

Pignite breathed out a stream of flames through his nose at Zebstrika. The electric zebra dashed out of the blast's path and came at Pignite from behind with a body covered in fire. Zebstrika rammed into Pignite's back. But the fire pig withstood the attack.

"Use Heat Crash!" Bianca commanded.

Jumping high into the air, Pignite's body became surrounded by a red ball of fire. Before Zebstrika could get out of the way, the massive fireball plummeted back down and impacted with a huge explosion. But when the smoke finally cleared, Zebstrika was still on its feet.

"No way!" a shocked Bianca exclaimed.

"That was a dazzling display, but not quite dazzling enough." Elesa commented. "Use Wild Charge!"

"Quick Pignite, fight back with Flame Charge!" Bianca ordered.

Zebstrika began to gallop towards Pignite with a body shrouded in lighting. At the same time a flame covered Pignite took off like a rocket at Zebstrika. Both Pokemon impacted with explosive force. When the dust finally settled after a moment, Zebstrika was still on its feet while Pignite was on his back unconscious.

"Pignite is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The second round goes to Elesa and Zebstrika!"

"Both you and Pignite shined brightly Bianca." Elesa praised over the roar of the crowed as Bianca called Pignite back. "But I'm afraid you didn't shine brightly enough."

"This is bad." Chili commented on the sidelines. "That Zebstrika just seems way too hot for Bianca to handle."

"And now Bianca's down to one Pokemon." Misty added. "If she loses…"

"We just have to hope that Bianca can figure a way out of this." Ash told them.

"Please send out your next Pokemon." The referee ordered Bianca.

"Oh, right." Bianca replied as she hesitantly pulled out her last Pokeball. "Come on out Frillish!"

The pink ghostly jellyfish emerged from her ball and floated before Zebstrika.

"My, that's an interesting choice." Elesa commented with a raised eyebrow.

"No way! Don't tell me that Bianca doesn't have any other Pokemon she can use!" Misty exclaimed. "Frillish won't stand a chance against Zebstrika."

"I think Bianca knows that too." Ash said gravely. "But it looks like she doesn't have any other options."

"I hope this works. Frillish, hit Zebstrika with Attract!" Bianca commanded.

Frillish gave Zebstrika a seductive wink, sending out from her eye a pink energy heart. The heart hit Zebstrika in the face, but the electric zebra only tilted its head at her.

"Sorry, but my Zebstrika is female." Elesa revealed. "In fact all of my Pokemon are."

"No!" Bianca whispered.

"Time to finish this battle!" Elesa declared. "Zebstrika, dazzle Frillish with Wild Charge!"

A lightning-covered Zebstrika rammed into Frillish at top speed, instantly knocking her to the ground. Frillish was out cold.

"Frillish is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Elesa and Zebstrika!"

The crowed cheered loudly as Bianca sadly called Frillish back to her ball. Mr. Edmonds nodded in approval of the result.

"Aw man, this really sucks." Chili commented.

"A deal's a deal Bianca." Mr. Edmonds told her as he walked up. "It's time to come home."

"Yeah… okay." Bianca sadly agreed.

"Before anyone starts packing their bags, maybe we should all go down to the Pokemon Center." Elesa suggested. "I know Zebstrika could use a little care."

* * *

Several minutes later Ash, Misty, and Chili were sitting down in the Pokemon Center's waiting area. Bianca had since retreated up to her room. Her father had gone up to talk to her a few minutes after she left. Elesa meanwhile was taking a phone call.

"This whole thing with Bianca just isn't fair." Misty commented. "It seems like the odds were just stacked against her."

"Plus her father didn't really give her a choice." Ash added.

"But what can we do though?" Chili pointed out.

"Maybe we can convince Mr. Edmonds to change his mind." Misty suggested.

"That might be easier said than done." Ash told her. "He's pretty protective of Bianca."

"A little too protective if you ask me." Misty added.

"Sorry for interrupting, but I have some bad news for you Ash." Elesa cut in as she approached. "I was just talking to a friend of mine from Lillycove City in the Hoenn Region. He's helping to sponsor a fashion show that's being held there, this weekend. They're short a model, so he asked me to fill in. So I'm afraid our battle will have to wait until Monday."

"That's fine." Ash assured her. "I've got other stuff to deal with right now anyway."

"Well then, I should be going." Elesa decided. "Sorry about what happened with your friend. I'll see you all on Monday."

With that, Elesa left the Pokemon Center. Almost as soon as she did, Mr. Edmonds came running up with a panicked expression.

"Have any of you seen Bianca?" he asked them.

"Not since she went up to her room." Misty replied. "Is something wrong?"

"She wasn't in her room when I went up to talk to her." Mr. Edmonds told them. "I think she's run away."

* * *

Bianca found herself walking through a seedy part of the city after taking the subway and just walking in a random direction. She didn't really pay attention to where she was going. She just wanted to get away from her father. Soon Bianca came upon an old abandoned warehouse that looked as though it had not been used in years. Deciding that she needed a break from walking, Bianca decided to go in. It seemed like the last place her father would look for her.

Upon entering the warehouse though, Bianca found that it was not unoccupied. Standing in the middle of the vacant space were three men. The first had white hair and wore a black suit. The other two men were larger than the one in black. One of them had black hair and a mustache and the other a shaved head. Both of them were wearing black leather jackets and faded jeans. Bianca quicky crouched down and hid behind an old rusty barrel.

"So let me get this straight Mr. Blackwater, you want us to torch this guy's shop." The thug with the mustache inquired to the man in black.

"I want it burned to the ground." Blackwater confirmed. "I've tried five times to talk some sense into that old shopkeeper, but he won't budge. I've got a shopping center to build here in Nimbasa and I won't let some old man stand in my way."

"How do you want it done?" the thug with the shaved head asked.

"I don't care how you do it as long as it looks like an accident." Blackwater told them.

Suddenly the doors on the far side of the warehouse burst open. Walking in was a Pokemon that stood at five feet tall and looked like a bipedal fox. Much of its fur was dark-grey, though it had long black fur covering its upper torso. There was also a mass of red fur on the top of its head that was tied back into a ponytail by a large teal orb. The creature's snout and ears were pointed, with the inside of the ears being red. Its eyes were light blue rimmed with red fur, and the claws on its hands and feet were red as well.

"Ain't that a Zoroark?" the thug with the shaved head asked.

"Very good." A female voice confirmed from outside. "Now, which one of you is Edger Blackwater?"

"Who wants to know?" Blackwater demanded to know.

Walking in next to Zoroark was a young woman with blond hair that went just past her shoulders and stood about as tall as Zoroark. She looked to be about sixteen and had incredibly pale skin. A black mask with blue lenses covered the top half of her face. In addition to the mask she wore a black shirt with a large red R on the front and a white skirt with a red stripe near the bottom that ended just above the knees. She also had on white knee-high boots with a red band near the top and a matching pair of elbow-high gloves. Atop her head was a black cap with a red feather sticking out the right side, and from her neck hung a white cape that was draped over her left arm and went down almost as far as her skirt.

"I am Noir Mask." The young woman informed them. "And I'm a special agent from Team Rocket."

"I have no further business with Team Rocket." Blackwater told her.

"Oh, but Team Rocket has business with you." Noir Mask retorted. "It seems we hired you to build a headquarters for us here in Unova and you cut corners in the construction to embezzle money for us. Needless to say, our leader isn't happy. So I was sent to deal with you."

"I don't have time for this! Crusher, Bruiser, get rid of her!" Blackwater ordered.

"I think it's time you meet a friend of mine." Noir Mask decided as Blackwater's thugs began to advance. From behind her cape she produced a Pokeball with a purple top half with two pink spots on top and a white letter M on the front. "Go Darkrai!"

Bursting out of the thrown ball was a legless shadowy creature with a tattered black body and an hourglass figure. On its head it had white hair that looked like a billowing flame and obscured one of its light blue eyes. Around its neck was a somewhat spiky growth that resembled a necklace of large red beads.

"What kinda Pokemon is that?" the thug with the shaved head exclaimed in a frightened tone.

"Experience my hell." Noir Mask said in a cold low tone. "Dark Void!"

Darkrai raised its arms and between its claws formed a ball of black energy. It threw the black sphere at Blackwater and his thugs. The ball split into three and hit them before they could get away. The three fell to the ground trapped in a deep dark sleep, convulsing from horrid nightmares. Deciding that she had seen enough, Bianca tried to sneak away. But standing right in front of her was Zoroark. The monster fox had apparently spotted Bianca and had quietly sneaked over to her while Noir Mask was dealing with Blackwater.

"Whoever you are, show yourself!" Noir Mask ordered.

"Please don't hurt me!" Bianca begged as she stood up from behind the barrel, raising her hands in surrender.

"Who are you?" Noir Mask asked.

"B-Bianca." She answered. "And I don't have anything to do with whatever was going on here."

"Obviously." Noir Mask observed. "Do yourself a favor and forget about what you've seen tonight."

Zoroark trotted back over to Noir Mask's side as she and Darkrai turned to leave.

"So, are you like a superhero or something?" Bianca hesitantly inquired.

"Hardly." Noir Mask chuckled darkly. "Now go home."

"Wait!" Bianca called after her, causing Noir Mask and her two Pokemon to stop. "This Team Rocket you said you're a part of. Do you think maybe I could join it?"

"Trust me, joining Team Rocket is the last thing you want to do." Noir Mask told her before continuing on.

"But… I don't have anywhere else to go." Bianca told her, causing Noir Mask to stop again.

"What do you mean?" the masked agent asked as she turned around a little to face Bianca.

"Well you see I'm a Pokemon Trainer. But my dad won't let me go on my journey." Bianca explained. "He thinks I can't handle it. Today when I went to challenge this city's gym leader he came to get me and force me to come home. I ended up having to try and prove myself by beating the gym leader… but I lost."

"So now you're running away." Noir Mask deduced.

"He's probably looking for me right now." Bianca assumed. "Ash, Misty, and Chili probably are too."

"Wait, as in Ash Ketchum?" Noir Mask asked in a surprised tone.

"Yeah, do you know him?" Bianca inquired.

"In a way." Noir Mask answered. "Tell me… is there a young woman traveling with him named Lisa Flare?"

"Well, no." Bianca answered.

Noir Mask suddenly screamed and swung her fist into the metal wall of the warehouse, greatly startling Bianca. The masked agent pulled her fist away after a moment breathing heavily.

"Uh, are you okay?" Bianca asked hesitantly.

"…I'll live." Noir Mask assured her as she calmed down. "So, where were you planning to run away to?"

"I don't know." Bianca admitted. "But I'm not going home, no matter what my dad tells me."

"What if you could prove to your father that you truly are strong?" Noir Mask asked. "Would he let you continue on your journey then?"

"I don't know. In fact I think he would've dragged me home even if I did win that gym battle." Bianca admitted. "No matter what I do he's always going to see me as a helpless little girl. Sometimes he makes me so mad."

"Maybe I can help you then." Noir Mask suggested as a smirk came to her face.

"Well thank you, but why would you help me?" Bianca asked.

"I know what it's like to have my freedom taken away. Just like your father is trying to do to you." Noir Mask revealed. "I can train you to bring out your hidden strength. The kind of strength I learned how to use in order to survive. What do you say Bianca?"

"I guess I don't have anything to lose." Bianca agreed.

"Okay then. Let's get out of here before your father or Ketchum finds us." Noir Mask decided.

* * *

**Author's Note:** As mentioned above, the events of this story take place a few years before the events of _Revenge of Noir Mask_, in case anyone asks. Anyway, Bianca's path down the dark side has now begun. This is what can happen when one is too overprotective of their kids. By the way, Bianca's family name, Edmonds, is just a name I pulled out for the purposes of this story.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	27. Tag Team of Rage

**Author's Note:** Okay, so I may have exaggerated last time when I said that Bianca was going over to the dark side. Noir Mask isn't actually evil after all. She's just forced to do evil things to survive. But then again, rage is sort of a pathway to the dark side.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 26: Tag Team of Rage

It had been a very rough two days for Bianca. Her special training with Noir Mask was proving to be rougher than she thought it would be. The days began with Noir Mask having Bianca and Pignite jogging through the hills where they had been camping out. Then after a brief twenty-minute break Bianca and Noir Mask would face off in Pokemon battles. Bianca was thankful that at least Noir Mask wasn't using Darkrai in these battles. But despite that, the masked agent was not pulling any punches. At that moment another battle had begun, and Bianca and Pignite were struggling against Noir Mask and her Hydreigon.

"Pignite, attack with Flame Charge!" Bianca ordered.

"Use Dragon Rush!" Noir Mask ordered.

At the same time a flame-covered Pignite took off at Hydreigon, the three-head dragon flew at Pignite glowing with a blue aura. The impact of the two Pokemon created a huge explosion. When the smoke and dust cleared, Pignite was still on his feet but had taken good deal of damage. Hydreigon meanwhile was relatively unharmed.

"What a pathetic display!" Noir Mask scolded. "You call yourself a Pokemon Trainer? I five-year-old could battle better! Look at the sorry way you've raised that Pignite."

"Be quiet!" a frustrated Bianca told her.

"I guess you're father was right all along." Noir Mask scolded. "In the end all you are is just a weak pathetic little girl who should just go home."

"I said shut up!" Bianca shouted.

At the same time, Pignite cried out and suddenly began to glow with a white light and change shape. When the light cleared the fire pig had grown in height to a little over five feet and had become bulkier. A pair of tusks protruded from his lower jaw and a red flame had sprouted from its chin like a beard and spread over his shoulders. The midsection of his torso had become black and had swirling yellow designs running along it. The pig's forearms had become black and more developed with three-clawed hands. His lower legs had turned black with gold rims near the top, making it look as though he were wearing boots.

"Ah, Pignite evolved into Emboar." Noir Mask observed. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Emboar, attack!" an angered Bianca commanded.

The equally enraged Emboar began pummeling Hydreigon with his fists. When the attack finally ended, Hydreigon fell to the ground out cold.

"Alright, I think that's enough." Noir Mask decided as she called Hydreigon back to its ball. "You've done it Bianca, you've tapped into your rage. And with it, your hidden strength."

"So now what?" Bianca asked.

"Now we go prove to your father just how strong you really are." Noir Mask answered with a grin.

* * *

Out in front of the Nimbasa City Pokemon Center, Ash and Chili were having a training battle of their own using Golett and Litwick. They had helped Mr. Edmonds search for Bianca after she disappeared but found nothing. Ash even tried to find Bianca using Aura, but even that had failed. It seemed that Bianca had gone out of range. So with no trace of Bianca and Elesa due to return to the gym that afternoon, the only thing for Ash to do was to prepare for the coming gym battle. Misty emerged from the Pokemon Center just as Ash and Chili's battle was wrapping up.

"Once more Golett, use Shadow Punch!" Ash commanded.

Golett swung its arm and launched a black shadowy version of its fist at Litwick. The candle Pokemon was hit with enough force to knock it to the ground unconscious.

"Wow, I think we can call that good." Chili decided as he called back Litwick. "Having Golett relearn Shadow Punch was a good idea."

"So is Golett the only Pokemon you're planning to use against Elesa?" Misty asked Ash.

"Well, I also plan to use Pikachu and Lucario if Golett gets knocked out," Ash revealed, "but yeah. Golett is the main part of my strategy. Plus I think a gym battle will do it good."

"It is a good strategy." Chili noted. "Golett is a Ground-type, which means Elesa's electric attacks can't do a thing to it."

"Let's head out to the gym." Ash decided. "Elesa's probably back by now."

In moments the group had arrived at the gym and found it open. They went inside, and one rollercoaster ride later a waiting Elesa met them. The group also saw that Mr. Edmonds was there with her and were surprised.

"Hello Ash." Elesa greeted. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No problem." Ash assured her. He then turned his attention to Bianca's father. "What're you doing here Mr. Edmonds."

"Oh, well I'm here because I'm hoping Bianca may try to challenge Elesa to a rematch." Mr. Edmonds explained. "Plus I thought watching your battle might take my mind off things. You know in my younger days I was a Pokemon Trainer myself."

"Now, now. Enough talking." Elesa interrupted. "Our stage is waiting for us Ash."

In moments they entered the gym's arena, which was already packed to the rafters with Elesa's raging female fans. Ash and his supermodel opponent took their positions on the battlefield.

"Hello everyone!" Elesa greeted her fans with a wave. "Get ready to watch me glow!"

The referee soon took the stage off to the side of the battlefield.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon match!" The referee announced. "Only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokemon during battle! Begin!"

"Go Golett!" Ash called as he threw out his Pokeball. The ghostly robot emerged onto the battlefield.

"Let's shine Zebstrika!" Elesa called as she threw out her own Pokeball. The electric zebra burst out of her ball to face Golett. "Use Flame Charge!"

Zebstrika galloped top speed at Golett as her body became shrouded in fire. Golett was struck head on but withstood the attack. Though it had to dig in its feet to do so.

"Hang in there, Golett!" Ash called.

Suddenly Golett began glowing with a white light as its body grew and changed shape. When the transformation was finished and the light faded, the ancient robot was standing at a little over nine feet tall and looked more like a suit of armor. Its head was small in comparison to the rest of its body. The machine's torso was more spherical and had a diagonal crack of an eerie yellow light in the front, held closed by a sort of brown bandage. At its waist was very short Roman-style skirt armor, and on the robot's wrists and ankles were brown bands. On the front of its shoulder and the back of its hands were glowing yellow swirls.

"Whoa, that's big." Ash declared as he got out his Pokedex to see just what Golett had become.

"Golurk, the Automaton Pokemon, and the evolved form of Golett." The Pokedex identified. "Scholars believe that Golurk was created by an ancient civilization as a means of protection. If the brown bandage on its chest is removed, the mysterious energy powering Golurk will run out of control. Golurk are able to fly by retracting its hands and legs into its body."

Hah! Size alone doesn't decide a gym battle." Elesa confidently declared. "Zebstrika, use Flame Charge again!"

"Okay Golurk, use Bulldoze!" Ash commanded.

As Zebstrika began to gallop at the ancient robot, Golurk stomped the ground with its right foot, causing the stadium floor to shake. A wave of earth came at Zebstrika and hurled her into the air. The electric zebra was out cold upon crashing back to the ground.

"Zebstrika is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Round one goes to Ash and Golurk!"

"Looks like Zebstrika didn't shine brightly enough." Elesa commented as she called Zebstrika back to her ball. "But this battle's far from over! Let's shine Emolga!"

Gliding out of Elesa's Pokeball was a white face and underside and black back and tail. The undersides of its wing flaps were yellow, and it had large yellow cheeks.

"Oh how cute." Misty commented on the sidelines.

"And a smart move." Chili added. "Emolga's a Flying-type. Which means Golurk's Bulldoze attack can't affect it."

"Emolga, use Acrobatics!" Elesa commanded.

"Use Shadow Punch!" Ash commanded.

As soon as Emolga began to fly at Golurk, the ancient robot swung its arm and sent a huge shadowy fist at the flying squirrel. The punch hit with such force that Emolga was hurled back into the wall of the gym behind Elesa and created an impact crater. After a moment Emolga fell of the wall and hit the ground unconscious. The audience was left completely stunned, as was everyone else.

"…Uh, Emolga is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The second round goes to Ash and Golurk!"

"Wow, that punch was way stronger than I expected it to be." A still shocked Ash commented.

"Piii." An equally shocked Pikachu agreed. Lucario simply nodded with his jaw still hanging open.

"This isn't over yet." Elesa declared after calling Emolga back. "Time for my secret weapon! Shine Elektross!"

Emerging from Elesa's Pokeball was a floating dark blue-green eel-like creature with a yellow underside and red eyes. It had a yellow fin extending from a green tentacle on its back and two arms with sucker-like pads. The thing's sucker-like mouth had red lips and four tiny white fangs.

"Attack Golurk with Giga Drain!" Elesa commanded.

Elektross began to fly towards Golurk as its fangs began glowing with a red light. Suddenly Golurk began to glow with an eerie yellow aura and charged forward. The ancient robot tackled Elektross to the ground with incredible force. When the dust settled, Golurk was on top of a knocked out Elektross.

"What kind of attack was that?" a surprised Misty wondered.

"I think that was Heavy Slam." Chili explained. "It's an attack that does damage based on the weight of the user and the weight of the opponent. The heavier the user is compared to the opponent, the more damage it does. It's sort of like Pignite's Heat Crash."

"Elektross is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Golurk."

The audience was mostly silent upon hearing this verdict. There were a few cheers, but not many. Ash and Elesa meanwhile called back their Pokemon.

"Well, I guess you were the one who dazzled me Ash." Elesa told him as she walked out. "But you beat me fair and square. So as proof, here's the Bolt Badge."

"Thanks." Ash said as he took the badge from Elesa and placed it in his badge case. "Well, four down, four to go I guess."

"You did an outstanding job out there young man." Mr. Edmonds commented as he walked onto the stage.

"Thanks." Ash replied modestly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Though I didn't expect Golurk to be that strong."

"Elesa!" a familiar voice called, causing Ash and the others to look.

Stepping onto the battlefield from the door behind Elesa was Bianca. A very determined and angry expression was on her face.

"Bianca, where have you been?" Mr. Edmonds demanded to know. "Do you know how worried I've been?"

"Be quiet!" Bianca snapped.

"Don't talk to me that way!" Mr. Edmonds scolded.

"Hey now, let's all keep calm." Elesa interrupted. "Okay Bianca, I'm guessing you came to challenge me to a rematch, right?"

"I didn't just come for a rematch. I came to challenge both you and my father to a battle." Bianca revealed.

"Bianca, stop this foolishness right now!" Mr. Edmonds ordered. "You had your chance to prove yourself and you lost. So now it's time to come home."

"What's the matter Mr. Edmonds?" a voice suddenly asked. Noir Mask walked onto the battlefield and up next to Bianca. "Afraid to face your own daughter in battle?"

"What're you doing here?" a startled Ash demanded to know.

"Oh hello Ketchum." Noir Mask greeted. "Don't worry, I'm not here for you. I've only come to help Bianca with her little problem."

"You're the last kind of help Bianca needs, so get lost!" Ash ordered.

"I'd stay out of this if I were you." Noir Mask warned. "We wouldn't want things to get more… complicated."

Just as Ash was about to ask Noir Mask what she was implying, Lucario snarled in the direction of the open door behind Noir Mask and Bianca. He looked and saw Darkrai's glowing eye in the dark corridor.

"Why don't you be a good boy and stay out of this." Noir Mask suggested. "You are welcome to stay and watch of course."

Reluctantly, Ash and his tow Pokemon backed down. They walked off the battlefield over to where Misty and Chili were.

"Who are you?" Elesa asked Noir Mask.

"I am Noir Mask." The masked agent explained. "Bianca and I have a little proposition for you, Ms. Elesa. You and Mr. Edmonds fight us in a double battle. If we win, Bianca is allowed to continue her journey as a trainer."

"An interesting proposal." Elesa commented. "You realize though, that such a battle won't earn either of you a badge."

"I don't care about the badge!" Bianca told her. "All I care about is beating both of you."

"Bianca, this is absurd!" Mr. Edmonds told her.

"I don't see any harm in it." Elesa argued.

"You used to tell me that you never turned down a challenge Daddy." Bianca recalled. "Well now I'm the one challenging you!"

"…Fine Bianca." Mr. Edmonds finally agreed. "If defeating you myself is the only way to get you to come home, then you leave me no choice."

In moments the four took their positions on the battlefield. Many of Elesa's fans had quickly gotten word of the battle that was about to occur and rushed back to the stands. Ash and the others meanwhile stayed to watch on the sidelines.

"Ash, why aren't you putting a stop to this?" Misty asked.

"Because Noir Mask pretty much threatened to send out Darkrai if I interfered." Ash revealed. "And there are way too many people here."

"Just who is this Noir Mask anyway?" Chili inquired.

"Someone who's very dangerous." Ash told him as he narrowed his gaze to the battlefield.

"You know, that is a very interesting outfit you have on." Elesa commented to Noir Mask. "Though I think that the hat and cape might be a little much. You know I do have a friend in Lilycove City who could help come up with a better costume. I could give him a call later if you want. His name's Andre, and he designs some of the latest fashions in his spare time."

Noir Mask gritted her teeth and her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Andre… Dantes?"

"That's right." Elesa confirmed. "Wait, do you know him?"

"You're going to regret mentioning his name." Noir Mask told her in a low cold voice.

"This will be a special match between the teams of Bianca and Noir Mask, and Elesa and Mr. Edmonds!" the referee announced.

"Go Darmanitan!" Mr. Edmonds called as he threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was a red ape-like creature with long bushy eyebrows that looked like flames. Its body had no neck and it had a large mouth full of sharp fangs. On its chest were three vertical tan ovals.

"Awesome, a real live Darmanitan!" an excited Chili exclaimed. "This would be so much cooler if it weren't for the masked villain."

"It's now time to show off my most dazzling Pokemon!" Elesa declared as she threw out a ball. "Shine now, Flaffy!"

Appearing out of the ball was a pink bipedal sheep with pink skin and stubby arms. It had white wool only around its neck and on top of its head. On the sides of her head were two short pink horns with black stripes. The sheep also had a black striped tail that ended in a blue sparkling ball. The audience cheered loudly when Flaffy emerged onto the field.

"Go Emboar!" Bianca called out as she threw her own ball. The fire pig emerged from the ball before Darmanitan.

"It looks like Bianca's Pignite evolved." Ash observed.

"Go!" Noir Mask called as she threw out the final Pokeball.

Flying out of the ball before Flaffy was a small black bird with a large yellow beak. The feathers on its head were arranged in the shape of a hat.

"Uh Murkrow?" Elesa asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What's Noir Mask thinking?" Chili wondered. "A Flying-type like that won't stand a chance against Flaffy."

"Don't be so sure." Ash told him. Lucario narrowed his eyes towards Murkrow and growled.

"Emboar, attack Darmanitan with Wild Charge!" Bianca commanded.

"What?" a surprised Mr. Edmonds exclaimed.

Emboar began to charge at Darmanitan and his body became shrouded in yellow electricity. The fire pig rammed into the red ape and Darmanitan was forced back a couple of feet.

"Well, I guess if Bianca is going to handle her father, I should take you on." Elesa decided. "Flaffy, attack Murkrow with Thunder Shock!"

The electric sheep crackled with yellow electricity and sent a bolt of lightning at Murkrow. The attack created a small explosion. But when the smoke cleared, a snickering Zoroark was standing in Murkrow's place.

"What?" Elesa exclaimed.

"I never actually said that I sent out Murkrow, now did I?" Noir Mask pointed out with a sinister grin.

"Zoroark was using its Illusion ability to look like Murkrow!" Chili realized.

"Show no mercy Zoroark!" Noir Mask ordered. "Attack Flaffy with Night Slash!"

Zoroark growled and his claws began to glow with a red light. He charged at Flaffy and slashed the electric sheep across the chest, causing her to cry out in pain. Meanwhile, the battle between Bianca and her father raged on.

"Flamethrower!" Mr. Edmonds ordered. Darmanitan breathed out a stream of fire at Emboar, which the fire pig blocked with raised arms. "Bianca, why can't you see I'm only trying to do what's best for you?"

"What's best for me?" Bianca angrily repeated. "All you do is treat me like a little kid! Well I'm not a little kid anymore dad! I have my own life to live, and I'm not going to let you take it from me! Emboar, attack with Arm Thrust!"

Emboar began to repeatedly pummel Darmanitan with his fists. Meanwhile Noir Mask and Zoroark continued a brutal assault against Elesa and Flaffy.

"If you think I'm going to be defeated by some vapid airhead of a supermodel, you're sadly mistaken." Noir Mask told Elesa. "Your flashy crowd-pleasing attacks aren't going to get you anywhere, and by the time I'm through with you all your fans are going to see just how big of a fool you are. Zoroark, Dark Pulse!"

The monster fox opened his mouth and fired out a barrage of black energy rings at Flaffy. The electric withstood the attack but seemed to have trouble standing up afterward. Meanwhile, Emboar had finished its beat-down on Darmanitan. Suddenly the fire ape glowed pink and transformed. Its body became blue and rock-like. Its eyebrows shrunk into simple gold ornaments and its arms retracted into its body so that its hands were at its sides.

"Did Darmainitan just evolve?" Misty asked.

"No, it just went into Zen Mode." Chili explained. "It's a special ability that a few Darmanitan have that transforms them and raises their defense when they've taken a lot of damage."

"Now Bianca!" Noir Mask called.

"Right!" Bianca agreed. "Emboar, attack Flaffy with Arm Thrust!"

"Zoroark, hammer away at Darmanitan with Night Slash!" Noir Mask ordered.

"What?" Elesa and Mr. Edmonds both exclaimed.

Zoroark leapt into the air and hit Darmanitan with a powerful slash when he came down. The monster fox began to strike Darmanitan's stone body repeatedly with its claws. Meanwhile Emboar charged over and began to beat Flaffy with his fists.

"Why would those two suddenly change opponents?" Ash wondered.

"It's because when Darmanitan enters Zen Mode it becomes a Psychic-type!" a worried Chili explained. "Which means Zoroark has a huge advantage against it."

"Then does that mean Bianca and Noir Mask were planning to do this from the beginning?" Misty wondered.

"Looks that way." Ash assumed.

Eventually, Emboar finished beating up Flaffy and Zoroark's assault on Darmanitan ceased. When it was over, Flaffy was having trouble standing and Darumaka's body looked as though it had cracks.

"Let's end this!" Noir Mask decided. "Night Daze!"

"Heat Crash!" Bianca ordered.

Emboar leapt up high into the air and his body became surrounded by a bright red fireball. Meanwhile, Zoroark's eyes began to glow blue and his body began producing a red aura that cracked the ground at his feet. The monster fox raised his arms and quickly brought them down to send a wave of red energy at Darmanitan. At the same time, the fireball that was Emboar crashed back down to earth and hit Flaffy, creating a huge explosion. When it was all over, Flaffy was out cold and Darmanitan was on its side.

"Flaffy and Darmanitan are unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Noir Mask and Bianca!"

The audience was silent as Noir Mask began to laugh madly and Zoroark and Emboar roared in triumph. Defeated, Elesa and Mr. Edmonds called back their respective Pokemon.

"What a pathetic pair you are." Noir Mask taunted. "A model who's attacks are all flash and no bang and a man who can't admit that his little girl has grown up."

"Bianca…" Mr. Edmonds began to speak, but stopped when Bianca gave him a cold glare.

"You still think I'm weak, don't you?" Bianca asked him. "No matter how hard I try or how many battles I win, you'll always see me as some helpless little kid. Well I'm not going to put up with it anymore! I never want to see you again!"

"Bianca just on!" Misty began to interrupt, but stopped when Bianca glared at her.

"You're almost as bad as my father!" Bianca told her. "You've thought I was weak from the moment we met! That's why you always kick me around!"

"Bianca, that's…" Misty began to explain.

"Shut up!" Bianca shouted, cutting her off. "I don't want to hear anything from you! But just you wait Misty! One of these days I'll show you just how strong I really am! Both you and Ash!"

"I think we're through here." Noir Mask decided before throwing out another Pokeball. "Go Houndoom!"

Emerging from the ball was a large black dog with a red underside and curved white horns instead of ears. On its back were white bands that looked like ribs, and around its neck was another band that had a small skull on the front, giving one the impression that the dog was wearing a collar. Its tail was thin and ended in a point like a demon's.

"Use Smog." Noir Mask commanded.

Houndoom breathed out a thick cloud of noxious purple smoke that covered the area. When the smoke finally cleared, Noir Mask and Bainca were gone, along with their respective Pokemon.

"Those two are probably long gone by now." Ash assumed.

"Well, I should get to the Pokemon Center and tend to my poor Flaffy and the others." A disheartened Elesa decided. "Then I'm going to spend the next five days in bed eating chocolates and reading manga. Good luck on your journey Ash." With that, the electric model walked off.

"I wish I knew how I could've prevented all this." Mr. Edmonds said sadly.

"You could've not been so overprotective of Bianca and let her live her own life." Ash said bluntly.

"Maybe you're right." Mr. Edmonds sighed. "But now I'm even more worried. I'm going to go search for Bianca."

"So you can drag her home?" Ash asked.

"I don't know." Mr. Edmonds replied. "But she is my daughter. And I have to find her." With that, Mr. Edmonds left.

* * *

Noir Mask landed Hydreigon just outside the city, allowing Bianca to dismount the three-headed dragon.

"I should be leaving now." Noir Mask told her.

"Thanks for all your help." Bianca replied. "But before you go, would you mind telling me your name? I promise not to tell anyone."

"…It's Marie." Noir Mask answered for a moment. "Take care of yourself Bianca."

Hydreigon flew back into the air and zoomed away towards the setting sun. Bianca headed off in another direction to find another gym. She was now determined to show the world that she wasn't a weakling, and she was going to prove it one way or another.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This was quite a long chapter to write since it featured two battles. The first battle between Ash and Elesa was fairly easy to write since it was so brief. In my experience playing the games, bringing a Ground Pokemon to an Electric-type gym is usually a slam dunk. The second battle proved to be much harder since there was a lot of dialogue and involved four trainers. Double battles are harder to write in my experience.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	28. Nemesis N

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 27: Nemesis N

Off all the cities in the Unova Region, Nimbasa was known far and wide as a shining city of entertainment. Among its many its many attractions were massive theme parks, sports arenas, and a Pokemon musical theater. The subway system of Nimbasa City was unmatched by any other city in Unova, and was at times used by trainers as a stage for battle. Ash and his companions found that they had to stay in this magnificent city of light for just a couple more days, as the bridge to their next destination, Driftveil City, had been closed for repairs. But they welcomed the break after the unfortunate events concerning Bianca and Noir Mask. That morning, Ash went up to go get Misty for their trip through the city.

"Hey Misty, are you ready?" Ash called as he knocked on the door to her room. The door opened to reveal a fully dressed yet somewhat depressed-looking Misty. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Misty assured him as she quickly put on a smile. "So, shall we get going?"

"Yep. Chili's waiting for us downstairs." Ash replied.

After meeting up with Chili, the group headed out of the Pokemon Center and into the city. Though as they walked they were still trying to decide on their exact destination.

"I'm telling you guys, we should check out the sports arena." Chili insisted. "I heard there's a big football game going on there today."

"I don't know. I'm a little more interested in seeing one of those Pokemon Musicals." Misty replied. "What about you Ash?"

"Well, I guess I'd like to check out this subway I've been hearing about." Ash admitted.

"We're in a city with tons of theme parks and a musical theater and all you wanna do is check out some dirty old subway?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I heard they have battles in the subway." Ash pointed out. "Might be cool to check it out."

"It seems that you three are having a bit of a disagreement." A voice cut it. Ash and the others looked to see N standing nearby.

"Oh, hey N." Ash greeted. "It's been awhile. How're ya doing?"

"Pretty well." N replied as he walked up. "I was actually hoping I'd run into you here Ash. There's something I'd like to discus with you."

"Sure. What's up?" Ash asked.

"Not here. I'd like to have this conversation somewhere else." N told him. "Your friends are welcome to come with of course."

"Okay then." Ash agreed after getting nods from Misty and Chili. "Lead the way."

After a few minutes of walking through the city, N led the group to one of the larger theme parks. The park was packed with people of all ages and around them were many rides and attractions. The biggest of these was the large white Farris wheel that loomed over the whole area. N took them to a large vacant area by this wheel.

"So what's this thing you wanted to talk to me about N?" Ash asked.

"Before getting into that, there's something I need to make sure of." N replied. "And to do that Ash, I'd need to challenge you to a battle."

"Sure, I'm game if you are." Ash agreed.

"Very good. Come to me my little friend!" N called.

Emerging from the bushes was a small tan crocodile-like creature with black horizontal stripes on its back and on the bridge of its snout. Around its sepia-colored eyes was a black mask-like pattern, making it look almost like the creature was wearing sunglasses. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out just what he was looking at.

"Sandile, the Desert Croc Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "These Pokemon make their homes under the hot desert sand in order to keep their body temperature from dropping."

"Okay then. Go Snivy!" Ash called as he threw out a Pokeball. The grass lizard emerged from her ball to face Sandile. "Let's start out strong with Leaf Blade!"

Snivy jumped into the air as the leaf on the end of her tail began to glow with a green light. She flipped around and brought the leaf down on the top of Sandile's head before doing another flip and landing about a foot in front of the desert croc.

"Use Sand Tomb!" N commanded. Sandile growled and suddenly a small twister of sand surrounded Snivy. "Now use Assurance!"

Sandile took off like a rocket and rammed into Snivy inside the twister, causing the grass lizard to cry out. A second later, the desert croc emerged from the other side.

"Hang in there, Snivy!" Ash called. "Use Vine Whip!"

Snivy's two whips extended out through the twister and swung at Sandile. But they missed their target and only struck the ground.

"It looks like Snivy's having trouble seeing through that twister." Chili noted on the sidelines.

"Use Assurance once more!" N commanded.

Sandile took off again into the twister and rammed into Snivy a second time. After it had emerged from the other side, the twister finally subsided. Snivy looked as though she was having trouble standing up.

"Use Bite!" N ordered.

Before Snivy could get away, Sandile rushed over with surprising speed and bit onto the end of Snivy's tail. Snivy cried out and began flailing her arms.

"Don't panic Snivy!" Ash called. "Use Vine Whip once more!"

Sinvy took a breath and extended her whips, bringing them down on the back of Sandile's head. The strike caused Sandile to release its powerful jaws.

"Let's hope this works. Hit Sandile with Attract!" Ash ordered.

Snivy turned around and gave Sandile a seductive wink, launching a pink heart from her eye. The heart hit Sandile in the face and immediately the desert croc was love-struck.

"Finish with Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.

Extending her whips once more, Snivy began striking Sandile repeatedly on the back. Due to Sniy's spell, Sandile looked as though he was enjoying the attack.

"No matter how many times I see this combo, it still looks wrong." Misty commented.

A few moments later, Snivy's attack ended and Sandile was out cold. With the battle over, N went over to tend to the defeated Pokemon.

"You fought well my friend." N told Sandile with a gentle smile as he gave him some potion. "Rest for now."

"That was a good battle." Ash told N. "But I'd still like to know what this is all about."

"Yes, of course." N replied as he stood back up. "I only needed to make sure that you were the kind of person I thought you were, which you are. You care deeply about Pokemon, and not just your own. Which is why I'd like to make you an offer."

"An offer?" Ash repeated with a raised eyebrow.

N snapped his fingers and suddenly a group of Team Plasma agents emerged from behind the trees and stands of the park and formed a circle around them. The Plasma grunts then got down and kneeled.

"N, what is this?" Ash demanded to know. "What're these guys from Team Plasma doing here."

"I called them." N replied as if the answer were obvious. "You see… I am the leader of Team Plasma."

The group was quite startled by this revelation, though Ash was perhaps the most startled. Ash felt as though he had been hit in the gut by a swinging log on a rope.

"…What did you just say?" Ash asked, wanting to confirm.

"Didn't you ever wonder why Team Plasma didn't interfere with you at the ruins Team Rocket had excavated in the desert?" N reminded them. "It was because I had ordered them not to."

"So you were there in Castelia City because Team Plasma was there too?" Misty asked.

"I felt that the matter needed my personal attention." N confirmed.

"So why are you telling me all this N?" Ash asked, his voice low and starting to brim with anger.

"Because I want you to join me." N revealed. "You and I are very much alike Ash. We both care greatly about Pokemon. Together we can free Pokemon from the oppressive hand of humans."

"What, by forcing people to give up their Pokemon?" Ash asked. "Forget it! I won't help with that sort of twisted plan!"

"How could you be opposed to Team Plasma's ideals?" a surprised N asked.

"Because they're warped!" Ash told him. "Trying to separate humans and Pokemon is just wrong!"

"…I see." N replied with a disappointed expression. "Then perhaps I was wrong about you all along. Very well then, I'll go. But know that if we should ever run into one another again, it will be as enemies."

Suddenly one of the Team Plama grunts got to his feet and threw out a smoke bomb, covering the area in a thick grey cloud. When the smoke cleared, N and his agents of Team Plasma were long gone.

"Should we try to go after them?" Chili asked.

"We probably wouldn't catch them in time." Ash told him.

"Ash, are you okay?" a concerned Misty asked.

"…I'll be fine I guess." Ash finally answered after a moment. "But it looks like N is really our enemy."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry this chapter was kinda short. Obviously it was a significant chapter, but I was having a few problems with how to do it. In the end I decided to keep it a bit simple. Plus it was a little refreshing to do something short after doing two long chapters like the last two.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	29. Last Car

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 28: Last Car

The rain poured down outside the Nimbasa City Pokemon Center as he gazed out the window of his room at the cityscape. His thoughts were on his encounter with N the previous day, and of the revelation that he was the leader of Team Plasma. Ash tried to figure out how he could've not seen that coming. But then it was the sort of thing that usually comes out of left field. Even so, he had failed to see that N was the leader of Team Plasma just as he had failed to see that Cyrus was the leader of Team Galactic until it was too late two years before. Ash thought that maybe if he had seen whom Cyrus truly was a little sooner… but then it was pointless to dwell on such things.

What hurt Ash the most though was that he considered N to be a friend. And N was right to an extent; the two of them were alike in a way. Which was why it was so hard to accept that N could be Team Plasma's leader. Ash was stirred from his thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Come in." Ash called as he turned away from the window. Slowly the door opened and Misty walked in.

"Hey there." Misty greeted.

"Hey." Ash greeted back. Sensing that the two might like some time alone, Pikachu and Lucario discreetly left the room. "What brings you here?"

"Just came to see how you were doing." Misty replied as she walked closer to him.

"I'm okay I guess." Ash told her as a small smile came to his face. "I've just been trying to figure out how I could've missed who N really was."

"Ash, nobody could've seen that coming." Misty pointed out. "Sure, N was a little odd. But he seemed like the last person someone would think to be the leader of an organization like Team Plasma."

"So was that bastard." Ash reminded her.

"N isn't Cyrus." Misty pointed out.

"I guess you're right about that." Ash admitted. "But still…"

"What's done is done." Misty told him. "And besides, nobody's gotten hurt."

"So far." Ash gravely pointed out. "I just wonder if I'll be able to stop N if we face him again."

"You always do." Misty told him before planting a kiss on his cheek.

"…So what's got you down?" Ash asked after a moment.

"It's Bianca." Misty admitted. "I've been thinking that maybe if I had treated her better, things would've turned out differently."

"What was it with you and Bianca, anyway?" Ash asked.

"I thought… that she was trying to steal you from me." Misty admitted.

"…What?" Ash replied with a small laugh as if the idea was the most absurd thing he had ever heard.

"Well she kept throwing herself at you." Misty pointed out. "I come in, and there she is right on top of you."

"Yeah, that's because she kept tripping and falling on me." Ash explained. "Every time she showed up she'd be charging at me and Chili as mach speed and suddenly trip and fall right on top of me."

"Are you serious?" Misty asked in disbelief.

"Just ask Chili about, or even Pikachu and Lucario." Ash replied.

"Oh god!" Misty exclaimed, feeling very foolish.

"Why would you even think that I was even interested in Bianca?" Ash asked.

"I don't know." Misty replied, almost on the verge of tears. "I guess when I saw you and Bianca on the ground together like that all those times something in me snapped. I just can't bare the thought of losing you to someone else."

"You don't have to worry about that." Ash assured her before pulling her into a hug. Moments later there was another knock on the door.

"Ash? Misty? Can I come in?" Chili's voice asked from outside the door.

"Uh, yeah. Go right ahead." Ash told him, as he and Misty broke apart.

Chili entered the room alongside Pikachu and Lucario. "I just thought that maybe you guys would like to check out one of those Pokemon Musicals. We didn't get a chance yesterday after what happened."

"I would like to see one of those musicals. But it's really coming down out there." Misty pointed out.

"No problem. We can just take the subway." Chili suggested. "Ash, you were wanting to check that out anyway."

"That sounds good to me." Ash replied.

"Well in that case, why not?" Misty agreed.

* * *

The complex subway system of Nimbasa City was not just a way for the citizens of Nimbasa to get around. It was a massive mobile arena for trainers to test their skills. And it was all overseen from a darkened control room by a mysterious pair of gentlemen. From one of their monitors the two saw Ash arrive with the others at the station near the Pokemon Center.

"That's the boy, isn't it?" one of the two gentlemen asked with eagerness in his voice.

"According to the description I got." The other man confirmed. "Long black hair in a ponytail, blue vest, and he's traveling with a Pikachu and a Lucario. There's no mistake it's him."

"Good. Let's get him in the car then." The first of the two men decided.

"Hold on brother. He's traveling with friends." The second of the two men observed. "It might be interesting to have one of them along for the ride. After all, two opponents are more of a challenge than just one. And I haven't had a chance to battle for awhile."

"Oh, fine then!" the first of the duo said impatiently. "Which one do you want?"

"Hmm… I think we should try taking on the girl." The second man decided. "She and the target seem quite friendly with one another."

"Alright, send the order." The first man told him. "It's time I taught that punk a lesson."

* * *

Ash and the others had made it to the station without incident. But upon getting their tickets, Ash and Misty were quickly directed by one of the conductors to the last car of the train. Something about the other cars exceeding their passenger limit. Upon entering the last car with Pikachu and Lucario, the couple found that the final car was completely deserted. But with little choice, they took their seats and soon the train was off down the tunnel.

"Did you think that the train car we were in with Chili looked crowded?" Misty asked.

"No, but then who knows what kind of train regulations this subway has?" Ash replied.

"Still, it just seems a little weird." Misty pointed out.

Before they could ponder things any further, the car was suddenly rocked by a loud noise that sounded as though they had disconnected from the rest of the train. Ash rushed to the front of the car to look through one of the small windows by the door. The car had indeed disconnected and was getting further away every second.

"Ash, what's happening?" a worried Misty asked.

"I have no clue!" Ash answered.

"Pipipi!" Pikachu called to Ash as on his shoulder. The electric rodent pointed to the windows on the right side of the car.

Ash looked and saw on the track along side their own another shorter train that was black in color and had a bullet nose. The black train took a junction and went onto the track Ash and Misty's car was on. In seconds the car connected with the train and the door opened to the middle car.

"All passengers please proceed to the next car." A voice called from beyond the door.

Ash and Misty looked to each other for a moment before cautiously going through the door with their two Pokemon companions. The door slide shut behind them after they entered. Standing at the other end of the dim car were two men shrouded in darkness.

"What the hell is going on here?" Ash demanded to know. "Who are you?"

In answer to Ash's question, a spotlight shined down on the two gentlemen. They were both tall and had grayish-brown hair that grew into sideburns. Both of them had the same face, indicating that they were twin brothers. The man on the left wore a black conductor's uniform with a long coat with two wide tan stripes running down it. The other man wore an identical outfit, save for the fact that it was white instead of black.

"I am… Emmet!" the man in white announced dramatically.

"I am… Ingo!" the man in black announced.

"And together we are… the Subway Masters!" the announced together as they finished with a dramatic pose.

"Subway Masters?" Misty asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Our job is to run the Nimbasa City subway system." Ingo explained. "We also oversee the battles that sometimes take place in some of the cars."

"On rare occasions we even join in on some of the battles." Emmet added. "What we're riding in right now is our special battle train. When we see a trainer or pair of trainers we like, we detach the car they're riding in from their train and attach it to this one."

"So why challenge us?" Ash asked.

"Because Ash Ketchum, you and I have a score to settle!" Emmet declared.

"What did Ash ever do to you?" Misty asked.

"He'll have to win the battle to find out." Emmet answered.

"As for me, I'm a little more interested how well you two fight along side each other." Ingo explained. "So, care to take us on?"

In answer to Ingo's question, Lucario stepped forward, growled, and took a fighting stance. At the same time, one of Misty's Pokeballs opened and Dewott burst out next to Lucario.

"I guess we don't have a choice." Ash noted.

"Very good!" Ingo praised. "Now then, come on out Chandelure!"

Emerging from Ingo's thrown ball was a ghostly chandelier with black metal arms and a large glass ball for a head. A purple flame blazed from the top of its head and smaller flames lit the pointed lights on its arms. On the front of its head was a pair of round yellow eyes.

"Spark on Elektross!" Emmet called out as he threw his own ball. Emerging from the ball was the same sort of large eel-like creature that Elesa had used against Ash. "Now Ketchum, suffer as I have! Elektross, attack Dewott with Thunder Bolt!"

"Lucario, block it!" Ash ordered.

Elektross fired a yellow bolt of electricity at Dewott. At the last second, Lucario leapt in and blocked the attack with his body.

"How dare you?" Emmet complained.

"You should've seen that one coming brother." Ingo pointed out to him. "Now then Chandelure, use Flamethrower on Lucario!"

"Not so fast! Dewott, intercept with Aqua Jet!" Misty commanded.

The second that Chandelure fired a stream of purple flames from the top of its head at Lucario, Dewott jumped into the air and became shrouded in water. The samurai otter took off like a rocket through the flames and struck Chandelure in the face.

"Ash, Dewott and I will handle Ingo. You and Lucario just worry about Emmet." Misty told him.

"Right." Ash agreed. "Okay Lucario, hit Elektross with Aura Sphere!"

Lucario brought its paws together and threw a ball of blue light at the eel creature. Elektross was hit in the chest.

"Not good enough!" Emmet declared. "Elektross, use Thunder!"

"Dodge and used Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded.

Elektross sparked and fired a bolt of yellow lighting up at the roof of the train car. The lightning came back down to strike Lucario, but the jackal Pokemon quickly jumped out of the way and came at Elektross with a glowing white fist. Meanwhile, the battle between Dewott and Chandelure was still going on.

"Dewott, use Swords Dance followed by Razor Shell!" Misty commanded.

Taking his two seashell weapons at his waist, Dewott raised them to his sides and spread his legs apart. He then crossed his arms and brought his right foot forward. After that he brought his arms down and brought his feet back in. Dewott began to glow with a red aura as water enveloped his seashell weapons and became blades.

"Chandelure, use Protect!" Ingo ordered.

Just as Dewott jumped up and raised one of his blades to attack, a barrier of light blue light formed around Chandelure. The blade of water was blocked by the ghostly chandelier's shield.

"Now use Will-o-wisp!" Ingo commanded.

Chandelure fired a ball of purple fire that hit Dewott in the chest. The attack left the samurai otter with a burn. Meanwhile, Lucario and Elektross were still engaged in combat.

"Discharge!" Emmet commanded.

Elektross slammed its tail into the ground and sent a current of electricity through the floor at Lucario. Lucario was struck by the attack and fell to his knees.

"Misty, now!" Ash called.

"Right!" Misty agreed. "Dewott, attack Elektross with Aqua Jet!"

"Lucario! Hit Chadelure with Bone Rush!" Ash ordered.

"What?" both Ingo and Emmet exclaimed.

A water-shrouded Dewott took off into the air and rammed into Elektross' side. At the same time, Lucario jumped at Chandelure as a blue light from his paw formed into a metal bone. Lucario began to repeatedly strike the ghostly chandelier with his bone weapon.

"Dewott! Finish off Elektross with X-Scissor!" Misty ordered.

Dewott twirled his shell weapons in his paws as they began to glow with a bluish-green light. The samurai otter charged at Elektross and hit the eel with an X-shaped slash of light. Elektross fell to the ground unconscious. At the same time, Lucario finished his attack on Chandelure. The ghostly chandelier hit the ground out cold.

"Well, I guess that's that." Ingo commented as he and Emmet called back their Pokemon. Emmet had a displeased expression on his face.

"Okay, we won. Now what's this all about?" Ash demanded to know.

"Well if you must know…" Emmet began. "I was trying to avenge my darling Elesa!"

"Huh?" Ash and Misty said together with dumbfounded expressions.

"Elesa!" Emmet sobbed as he fell to all fours.

"I guess I should explain." Ingo sighed as he tugged on the brim of his hat and came up closer. "You see, Elesa, my brother and I go way back. And for years Emmet has had a thing for her. Of course he doesn't stand a chance with her, but try telling him that. Anyway, we heard recently that Elesa has locked herself in her apartment because of some rough challengers at her gym."

"Now that you mention it, Elesa did say something about spending five days in bed after she was beaten by Bianca and Noir Mask." Misty recalled.

"Emmet heard about this and desperately wanted to avenge Elesa by defeating those challengers." Ingo went on. "We haven't caught sight of those two girls who beat her trying to ride our subway. But when we saw you trying to board, Emmet immediately wanted to challenge you. As for me, I just wanted to see how well the two of you battled together."

"Elesa." Emmet sobbed again, this time a little more quietly.

"Man, this is kinda pathetic." Ash quietly commented.

"Reminds me of Brock." Misty added. "So Ingo, is Elesa interested in Emmet at all?"

"Actually just between us, there's someone else that Elesa is interested in." Ingo quietly revealed.

"Who?" Ash asked.

"Not my place to say." Ingo replied. "Anyway, we should be reaching your destination shortly."

* * *

True to Ingo's word, the battle train arrived at the very station they were originally headed for. After they pulled in, Ash and Misty departed and found Chili nervously waiting for them by the door out.

"Where the heck were you guys?" Chili asked them.

"It's a long story." Ash answered. "Anyway, we should get going if we still wanna catch that show."

* * *

The following day the sun was shining down on Nimbasa City as Ash and his companions departed the Pokemon Center. They had gotten word that the drawbridge to Driftveil City had been repaired, which meant it was time for them to leave and head for the next gym.

"So how far is it to Driftveil City?" Ash asked Chili.

"Shouldn't be long at all." Chili replied as he looked over the map.

"Then let's get going." Ash told the others.

Thus the travelers began heading out of Unova's city of light. They would remember their time in Nimbasa as a time when they ended up losing friends. Though they would also remember the strong trainers they had encountered. But the time had long come for them to move on.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Originally I wasn't going to have the Subway Masters appear in this story, but the chapter seemed to need something and having them show up seemed like the best solution. Plus I had yet to show Ash and Misty fight together in a double battle.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	30. Hall of the Miner King

**Author's Note:** So we're now already at gym number five. There was going to be another chapter before this one, but I felt like it was filler so I just cut it. Plus it just seemed to make more sense when I considered the proximity between Nimbasa and Driftveil.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon

* * *

Chapter 29: Hall of the Miner King

It did not take very long for Ash and his companions to reach Driftveil City. The trip had only taken a day's walk, during which Ash and the others did a little training. And before long they had reached the industrious mining colony. The group spent the night at the local Pokemon Center before heading to the large almost castle-like building that was the Drifveil City Gym. They stood a moment before the massive red doors trying to figure out how to get in when the suddenly slid open. On the other side to greet them was a man wearing a yellow hardhat with a small light on the front and a blue-grey jumpsuit.

"Can I help you?" the man asked.

"Uh yeah, I'm here to challenge the gym leader." Ash explained.

"Follow me please." The man replied as he turned around to lead them inside.

Ash and the others followed and noticed that the inside of the building seemed completely empty, save for an elevator on the far wall. The man in the hardhat led them into the elevator, and with the press of a button they were heading down.

"So what kind of gym is this?" Misty inquired.

"You'll all find out soon." The man replied. He then glanced at Ash and noticed Pikachu. "A little advice though kid, I wouldn't use Pikachu here if I were you. It'd only get creamed here in this gym."

"Why do you say that?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow. The man in the hardhat merely chuckled.

After a few moments the elevator doors opened to a large tunnel of brown rock deep within the earth. Chipping away at the walls in places were more men dressed like the one escorting Ash and the others.

"This is a mine?" Chili observed as their escort led them into the tunnel.

"That's right." The man confirmed. "Our gym's leader Clay also owns all the mines in this city. He made this city what it is today."

The group walked for a bit down the tunnel until they came to an older and somewhat overweight man talking to a couple other miners. The gentleman had dark-brown hair and was dressed somewhat like a rich cowboy, complete with a white hat with a blue gem on the front. Slung over his shoulder was a pickaxe with a long handle.

"Mr. Clay, sir." The group's escort called, getting the cowboy's attention. "The young man here wishes to challenge you."

"Does he now." Clay replied as he approached. He looked Ash over carefully for a moment. "Well son, yew don't look like much. But I reckon that I can spare a few minutes to take ya on."

Clay led them further down the mineshaft until they reached a dead end. Using his pickaxe the mine owner pressed a hidden switch in the wall, causing it to rise up and reveal a hidden arena. Ash and Clay took their positions on the battlefield while Misty and Chili went off to the sidelines behind Ash. The miner who had been escorting the group previously took position on the side of the field as referee.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon battle!" the referee announced. "Only the challenger will be allowed to switch Pokemon during the match! Begin!"

"Let's go Krokorok!" Clay called as he threw out a Pokeball.

Bursting out of the ball was a large tan crocodile that had black stripes and stood on two legs. Its belly was pink and around its eyes was a black shape that resembled sunglasses.

"Now I get why Ash was warned not to use Pikachu. Clay is a Ground-type user." Chili quickly realized. "Pikachu would be at a huge disadvantage."

"Go Tirtogua!" Ash called as he threw out his own Pokeball. The prehistoric turtle emerged onto the field. "Use Aqua Jet!"

"Use Dig Krokorok!" Clay ordered.

Tirtogua shrouded itself in water and took off at Krokorok like a missile. But before the attack could hit the desert croc jumped up and burrowed into the arena wall, causing Tirtogua to miss. The prehistoric turtle landed back on the ground and looked around for where Krokorok might emerge. But seconds later the desert croc burst up from the ground and hurled Tirtogua into the air.

"Use Crunch!" Clay commanded.

As Tirtogua fell out of the air, Krokorok grabbed him with its jaws and clamped down tightly before flinging the turtle away. Tirtogua hit the ground hard and was on its back.

"Hang in there, Tirtogua!" Ash called. "Use Rock Polish followed by Aqua Jet!"

Tirtogua's shell flashed with a white light and its surface became smoother. Then after tucking in its head and flippers into its shell the prehistoric turtle became shrouded once more in water and took back off into the air, turning over as it came at Krokorok.

"Yew need to learn a few new tricks, boy!" Clay told Ash smugly. "Use Dig again Krokorok!"

Krokorock attempted to burrow into the earth once again. But before it could, the desert croc was hit hard in the side by Tirtogua's attack.

"What the…?" Clay exclaimed.

"I had Tirtogua use Rock Polish before attacking." Ash reminded him. "That move lets Tirtogua smooth out his shell and increase speed. Which is why this time he was able to hit Krokorok before it could escape into the ground. Now Tirtogua, hit Krokorok with Brine!"

Just as Krokorok had recovered from Tirtogua's last attack, the prehistoric turtle opened its mouth and sprayed the desert croc with a blast of salty water. After being hit in the chest by the attack, Krokorok fell to the ground on its back unconscious.

"Krokorok is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The first round goes to Ash and Tirtogua!"

"Yew got guts son, I'll give ya that." Clay laughed after calling Krokorok back to its ball. "But it'll take more than guts fer a young gun like yew to win at this gym." He then threw out another Pokeball. "Come out Palpitoad!"

The blue armless polliwog-like creature that was Palpitoad burst from its ball onto the field.

"Ash just lost his advantage." Chili observed on the sidelines.

"Tirtogua, use Aqua Jet on Palpitoad!" Ash ordered.

"Not good enough! Palpitoad, hit that shrimp with Hydro Pump!" Clay commanded.

Tirtogua launched himself at Palpitoad, only to be hit with a powerful blast of water from the frog Pokemon's mouth. The prehistoric turtle was hurled back to the ground.

"Finish it with Mud Shot!" Clay ordered.

Palpitoad spit out a ball of mud that hit Tirtogua in the face. The force of the attack knocked the turtle out cold.

"Tirtogua is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The second round goes to Clay and Palpitoad!"

"Not feelin' so tough now, are ya?" Clay taunted as Ash called back Tirtogua.

"Go Snivy!" Ash called as he threw out his second Pokeball of the match.

Snivy burst out of her ball on the field, and as soon as she did her body began to glow with a white light and change shape. When the light cleared, Snivy's had grown and two leaves had sprouted on her back like plates. Her arms receded into three-fingered hands and on her chest were two yellow leaves in the shape of a V that extended over her shoulders.

"Snivy just evolved into Servine." Misty observed.

"It must've been the experience she gained in her last battle." Chili assumed.

"Okay Servine, use Attract on Palpitoad!" Ash commanded.

Servine gave Palpitoad a seductive wink, sending a heart of pink energy at the blue frog. Palpitoad was hit in the face by the heart and was instantly love struck.

"Use Vine Whip!" Ash ordered.

Servine launched the pair of whips from her shoulders and began pummeling with Palpitoad. Though from the expression on his face the frog Pokemon seemed to be enjoying the assault.

"You know, somehow this seems even more wrong now that Snivy's evolved." Misty commented.

"Yeah, but I guess of something works though…" Chili pointed out.

"C'mon Palpitoad! Snap out of it!" a frustrated Clay called out. But Palpitoad was too enthralled by Servine to hear.

"Finish it with Leaf Blade!" Ash ordered.

Servine retracted her whips and flipped into the air. As she did, the three-pointed leaf at the end of her tail began to glow with a green light. Servine brought the blade down hard on the top of Palpitoad's head, knocking him out cold.

"Palpitoad is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The third round goes to Ash and Servine!"

Clay called the fallen frog back to his Pokeball with an angry expression on his face. After that he took of his hat and threw it to the ground.

"Dang, dang, dang!" Clay shouted as he stomped his hat into the ground. "What the hell kinda trick yew tryin' to pull?"

"Trick?" Ash repeated with a raised eyebrow. "I was just using strategy."

"That ain't no strategy!" Clay argued. "That was just a dirty trick! Yew should attack head on like a man!"

"Boy, for a gym leader Clay sure seems like a sore loser." Chili commented.

"I'll show ya how a real man fights!" Clay declared as he placed his hat back on his head and got out his next Pokeball. "Come on out Excadrill!"

Emerging from the ball was a fairly large dirt-brown mole-like creature with a white face and pink nose. A red almost diamond-shaped pattern was on its stomach and on the top of its head, extending forward, was a horn that looked like part of a drill bit. The long claws on the creature's arms looked like the remaining two segments of the drill bit that was on its head.

"Okay Servine, use Attract on Excadrill!" Ash commanded.

"Block with Rapid Spine!" Clay ordered.

With another seductive wink, Servine cast a pink heart towards Excadrill. But the mole Pokemon extended his spun his claws around and blocked the heart, shredding it to bits.

"What?" a surprised Ash exclaimed.

"Now, hit that Servine with Horn Drill!" Clay commanded.

In an instant Excadrill charged forward and hit Servine with the glowing horn on its head. The grass lizard was hurled back and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Servine is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Round four goes to Clay and Excadrill!"

"There now, that's the kind of fightn' I'm talking about!" Clay declared as he took his pickaxe in hand. "See this pickaxe son? When I was a tike no older than yew I used this axe alongside Excadrill to dig through this land. I worked hard for years and now look at me. I'm the face of this city. They call me the Miner King.

"I get young punks like yew comin' through my gym all the time. They all wanna be Pokemon Masters or somethin' like that. But they never know about the hard work that goes into a goal like that. So before I'm done with yew, yer gonna learn somthin' about what it's like to work hard."

Down on the sidelines, Misty's hands balled into fists at her sides as she clenched her teeth at Clay's words. Ash meanwhile said nothing as he calmly called Servine back to her ball. He looked at Lucario, prompting the jackal Pokemon to nod and dash over to where Misty and Chili were.

"So you think I should make my attacks more head on, huh?" Ash asked as he got out his next Pokeball. "Fine! I'll show you head on! Go Golurk!"

The nine-foot colossus burst out of the ball onto the battlefield, startling both Clay and Excadrill.

"Well now, that Pokemon does look tougher than yer others," Clay admitted as a confident smirk returned to his face, "but size ain't everythin'! Use Dig Excadrill!"

Excadrill jumped up into the air and bought his claws over his face, forming the claws and horn into a complete drill. Spinning his body around, Excadrill tunneled down into the ground.

"Now Golurk, use Earthquake!" Ash commanded.

As soon as Ash issued his command, Lucario raised his arms and formed a barrier of blue light around himself, Misty, and Chili. At the same time, Golurk stomped its foot down hard on the ground, causing the entire arena to shake hard. The ancient robot continued to stomp the earth. The tremors shook the arena hard enough to cause small parts of the arena ceiling to fall.

"I'm not sure if it's such a good idea to use an attack like that down here." A spooked Chili remarked.

"That's probably why Lucario's over here protecting us." Misty noted.

Once Golurk's attack finally ended, Excadrill emerged from the ground and staggered out of his hole. The mole Pokemon had a dazed expression on his face.

"Use Earthquake again!" Ash ordered.

Golurk resumed stomping its foot and began to shake the earth again. Excadrill was having a hard time remaining on his feet.

"Are yew crazy?" Clay asked, worried that the roof was going to fall down around his ears.

"I'm just being more aggressive like you thought I should." Ash told him as Golurk's second attack ended. "Now Golurk! Finish it with Fire Punch!"

Golurk's right fist became shrouded in flames as it swung it at a staggering Excadrill. The force of the punch hurled the mole Pokemon hard into the arena wall behind Clay. After a moment Excadrill fell off the wall and hit the ground out cold.

"Excadrill is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Golurk!"

With the battle ended, Ash and Clay called back their respective Pokemon. Meanwhile Lucario brought down his Aura shield, allowing Misty to storm onto the battlefield and kick Clay in the shin.

"Hey! What the hell was that for?" Clay yelled at Misty.

"You jerk! I don't care if you're the king of all the mines in the world! Where the hell do you get off telling Ash he doesn't know a thing about hard work when you don't even know a thing about him?" Misty demanded to know. "He has worked hard, and he's come a long way from when he first started out as a trainer!"

"Misty does have a point." Ash cut in as he approached. "From the moment I challenged you, you assumed a whole bunch of things about me and my Pokemon. I've battled a lot of other gym leaders before coming here and have even entered other Pokemon League competitions. And while I may have a different fighting style than you do, it's not any worse than yours."

"Yeah, I reckon yer right." Clay admitted as he removed his hat and scratched his head. "I guess I just get so many young bucks runnin' through here they all seem alike after a while. Sorry 'bout that." He then reached into his pocket. "Well, yew won fair and square, so here's the Quake Badge."

"Thanks." Ash replied as he took the badge and placed it in his badge case.

"Now, if y'all will excuse me, I should tend to my mine." Clay decided as he put his hat back on.

* * *

Ash and Misty sat together on a couch in the waiting area of the Pokemon Center after Tirtogua and Servinve were treated. It had only been twenty minutes since the battle with Clay.

"You really stuck to Clay after that battle." Ash noted to Misty.

"I just didn't like the way he was talking about you during that battle." Misty replied. "If he only knew about the things you went through two years ago, and of how hard you've trained to use Aura…"

"Well, it doesn't matter now." Ash told her.

"I know. But still, weren't you mad at Clay at all?" Misty asked.

"Why do you think I had Golurk shake up his mine?" Ash pointed out. "Still, thanks for sticking up for me back there."

"Anytime." Misty replied.

At that moment their eyes locked on to each other. Pikachu and Lucario noticed this and took that as a signal to step away for a bit. It was not long before Misty scooted over to Ash and they became locked in an embrace, their lips locking together. The couple broke apart though when they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and saw that it was Chili.

"Uh Chili, what's up?" Ash asked as both his own face and Misty's turned a deep shade of red.

"Sorry to interrupt, but one of Clay's workers dropped by with this." Chili informed them as he held up a brown satchel. "The guy said it was Clay's way of apologizing and saying thank you."

"Thank you?" Ash repeated with a quirked brow.

"Yeah, it seems Golurk's Earthquake attacks uncovered a new vein in the mine." Chili explained. "One that contains some gems and a whole bunch of evolution stones. He put a few of those stones in this bag and sent it over as a gift."

"Well, Pikachu isn't interested in evolving." Ash told him. "And I don't have any other Pokemon on me that use stones to evolve anyway."

"Yeah, well the thing is these are all Fire Stones." Chili explained. "So, I was wondering…"

"Consider them yours buddy." Ash replied before Chili could finish his request.

"Awesome! I think I'll use one right now." Chili decided. "Come on out Pansear!"

The fire monkey emerged from the thrown ball as Pikachu and Lucario returned at that moment.

"Look what I got Pansear." Chili said as he held up a crystal that looked like it had a live flame inside. "We've both been wanting this for a long time, haven't we?"

Chili set the Fire Stone on the ground and Pansear eagerly went over and picked it up. In a flash of light the stone vanished and Pansear began to glow with a white light and change shape. Soon the light faded and Pansear had grown a to over three feet and had gotten a little pudgier around the midsection. His toes had become cream-colored and his arms had become red. White tufts of fur had grown on his shoulders and his tail had become a plume of swirling red fur. Ash got out his Pokedex to learn more about the new Pokemon.

"Simisear, the Ember Pokemon, and the evolved form of Pansear." The Pokedex identified. "This Pokemon consumes sweets to sustain the fire burning in its body. It scatters embers from the top of its head to burn opponents."

"Sure seemed like Pansear really wanted to evolve." Misty noted.

"Well, we both thought that the time had long since come." Chili revealed. "It's just that it's so hard to get Fire Stones. So Clay's little present was really a lucky break. Anyway, another reason why I came over an interrupted you guys was because I was wondering what the plan is now that the Drifveil Gym is out of the way."

"Depends. Where's the next gym?" Ash asked.

"According to my map, the next gym should be in Mistralton City." Chili answered. "That's a few days away though. Plus to get to it we'll have to go through the Chargestone Cave."

"Well then, we might as well spend the rest of the day here." Ash decided.

"I'm fine with that." Misty agreed.

"Then in that case, mind if you and I have a battle Ash?" Chili requested. "I'd like to see what Simisear's capable of now that he's evolved."

"Sure." Ash agreed. "I'd like to give Tirtogua a little more training anyway."

With that the group headed out to the back of the Pokemon Center. It had been a victorious day for Ash and his Pokemon, but there was always room for improvement.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This ended up being one of the harder chapters in this story to write. Partly because I'm not a big fan of that particular gym leader. A lot of the chapter ended being fairly close to the events of the anime episode, yet there were also some obvious major differences.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	31. Liberator N

**Author's Note:** I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who's been following and reviewing this story. The input I've been getting has been very encouraging. Lately though it seems like this story has really started to flow again. Especially since I've hit a dead end with my other two ongoing stories.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 30: Liberator N

Two days had passed since Ash and the others were at Driftveil City where Ash had his fifth Unova gym battle. And after an uneventful trek through the woods they had arrived at one of the region's natural wonders, the Chargestone cave. In addition to being the most direct route between Driftveil and Mistralton City, the cave was known as being made of electromagnetically charged rock. And it was not uncommon to see rocks in the cave that were so charged that they floated in the air. Upon entering the cave, Ash and the others found themselves in a tunnel made of stone that gave off an electric blue glow.

"This place is so pretty." Misty remarked as she looked around.

"There must be some pretty awesome Pokemon that live here." Ash assumed.

"From what I've heard, the cave is supposed to be full of some unique Pokemon like Klink, Joltik, and Ferroseed." Chili informed them. "No Fire Pokemon though, which is too bad."

"Let's see." Ash said to himself as he got out his Pokedex to look up the Pokemon Chili mentioned.

The first creature that the Pokedex screen showed looked like a pair of grey metal gears winding against one another. Each gear had a face consisting of a round blue nose, a small open mouth, one eye, and a white X where another eye would normally be.

"Klink, the Gear Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "The two gears that make up this Pokemon generate electricity by spinning against one another."

The second Pokemon shown by the Pokedex was a small mite-like creature covered in yellow fuzz. It had four legs and four purple eyes.

"Joltik, the Attaching Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Joltik attaches itself to larger Pokemon to suck static electricity to store in a special pouch, as it is unable to generate electrical energy of its own. They also sometimes suck electricity from household outlets."

"An Electric _Bug_ Pokemon?" Misty noted with a cringe.

"Yeah, and a small one too." Ash added, as he looked at the rest of the info the Pokedex had. "It says here Joltik is only four inches tall."

Misty began to frantically but secretly check her body to see if one of the tiny electrical mites had crawled onto her while she wasn't looking. Meanwhile, the screen of Ash's Pokedex shifted to another Pokemon. This one looked like a sort of grey metallic seedpod with green thorns and a pair of small yellow eyes.

"Ferroseed the Thorn Seed Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Using the spikes on its body, this Pokemon clings to the walls of caves to absorb nutrients. It can also fire these spikes at enemies to escape danger."

"A Grass and Steel-type, huh?" Ash noted as he read the Pokedex further. "I don't think I've ever seen a Pokemon like that before."

"I'd rather see that one than Joltik." Misty commented.

As the group of travelers proceeded further into the cave, Pikachu's ears perked up to a sound in the distance. At the same time, Lucario and Ash froze.

"What is it Ash?" Misty asked.

"Someone else is here." Ash informed them.

"Probably just more people on their way to Mistralton City." Chili assumed.

"No, there's something familiar about this presence." Ash revealed. "We should check this out."

Ash led them further down the twisting corridors of Chargestone Cave. They all stopped when they looked around a corner and saw a pair of Team Plasma agents, a man and a woman.

"Team Plasma?" a startled Chili blurted out, alerting the two Plasma grunts to their presence.

"Who's there? Come out this instant!" the female Plasma agent ordered.

"Nice going, Chili." Misty very sarcastically told him through gritted teeth.

"I'll take care of this with my new Pokemon! Come out Klink!" the male Plasma agent called as he threw out two Pokeballs. Two floating pairs of the living gears emerged.

"I got us into this, and I'll get us out. Go Simisear and Litwick!" Chili called as he threw out two Pokeballs of his own. The ghostly candle and fire monkey emerged to face the gear Pokemon. "Use Flamethrower!"

Simisear breathed out a stream of red flames at the left Klink while Litwick shot a blast of purple fire from the top of its head at the right Klink. The living gears dropped to the ground after being hit.

"You are so useless." The female Plasma agent told her counterpart as she threw out her own pair of Pokeballs. "Go Sandile!" A pair of the tan desert crocs emerged.

"Go Frillish and Corsola!" Misty called out with her own throw.

Misty's blue ghostly jellyfish burst out of his ball and floated before the two Sandile. At the same time, Corsola emerged and landed on the ground.

"Corsola, use Bubble Beam!" Misty commanded. "Frillish, attack with Water Pulse!"

Corsola spat out a barrage of bubbles at the right Sandile while Frillish raised his tentacle arms and shot a glowing ball of water at the left one. The attacks hit and both desert crocs were out cold.

"Enough." A familiar voice ordered.

Approaching them from further down the tunnel was a familiar green-haired figure wearing a ball cap. The two Plasma grunts called back their Pokemon and kneeled before N.

"Hello Ash, I had a feeling you'd pass through here." N greeted. "Though I have to admit that you came sooner than I expected."

"What're you up to N?" Ash demanded to know. "Why is Team Plasma here?"

"We're here mining some of the electromagnetic rock." N explained. "Of course we're being very careful not to disrupt the lives of the Pokemon living here. It's slow work, but fortunately we don't need much of the rock to carry out my plans."

"And just what are you planning?" Ash asked.

"That should be obvious." N replied. "My goal is to create separate worlds for humans and Pokemon. Thus saving Pokemon from the human race's oppressive rule."

"Pokemon aren't oppressed by humans! They're our partners!" Ash argued.

"You actually believe that when there are organizations out there like Team Rocket who abuse Pokemon for profit." N pointed out. "Then there were the people of Castelia City who only saw those poor frightened Venipede as enemies. All of this confirms my belief that Pokemon and humans weren't meant to live together."

"Who are you to make that sort of judgment?" Misty cut in. "What gives you the right to decide what's best for all Pokemon?"

"I have that right because I am able to understand Pokemon." N told her. "And that is because I was raised by them."

"Raised by Pokemon?" a surprised Ash repeated.

"I was what you would call an orphan, left deep in a forest." N began. "There I was raised by the Pokemon of the forest like I was one of them. That is until the man who became my father found me and took me in. After that I was educated in the ways of the world and met other Pokemon, Pokemon that my father saved from the abuse of humans. Since then I have made it my goal to liberate all Pokemon."

"I won't let you do that N." Ash declared.

"I still find it hard to believe that you would oppose me Ash. But then maybe you and I are more different than I thought." N assumed. "Therefore if you plan to oppose me I have no choice but to fight you. Come to me, my little friend!"

Rolling up from behind N was a metallic almost egg-shaped seedpod with yellow eyes covered in green thorns. Ash immediately recognized the Pokemon as Ferroseed.

"That's not all." N continued as he removed his hat to reveal a familiar yellow furred mite on his head.

Ash instantly recognized the small Pokemon as Joltik. Joltik quickly jumped off of N's head and landed beside Ferroseed.

"Pikachu, Lucario, let's go!" Ash ordered.

"Pika!" the electric rodent cried as he and Lucario jumped to the battlefield.

"Ferroseed, attack Pikachu with Gyro Ball!" N commanded.

"Lucario, block with Bullet Punch!" Ash ordered.

Ferroseed began to spin around fast like a top and came at Pikachu. Lucario quickly stepped in and hit the seedpod with a glowing white punch, hurling Ferroseed into the wall.

"Joltik, use Electro Web on Lucario!" N ordered.

From its mouth, Joltik spat out an electrified spider web at Lucario. The jackal Pokemon was covered in the large net before he could get out of the way and received a shock.

"Pikachu! Hit Joltik with Electro Ball!" Ash commanded. "Lucario, use Aura Sphere on Ferroseed!"

Pikachu gathered electricity into his tail that soon formed into a ball. Upon jumping into the air and flipping around, Pikachu launched the ball at Joltik, blowing the small electric mite into the air towards Ferroseed. At the same time, Lucario threw a ball of blue light at Ferroseed, shattering the net over him at the same time. Ferroseed dodged the attack however and spun over to where Pikachu was.

"Joltik, Ferroseed, attack Pikachu with Bug Bite and Pin Missile!" N ordered.

The tiny electric mite jumped back high into the air and landed on Pikachu's head. Joltik bit down hard with its fangs, causing Pikachu to cry out in pain. In the same instant, Ferroseed spun around and fired a barrage of green spikes that hit Pikachu before Lucario could jump in to block them.

"Quick Lucario! Use Bullet Punch to knock Joltik off Pikachu!" Ash commanded. "Pikachu, use Thunder Bolt on Ferroseed!"

With another glowing white fist, Lucario knocked Joltik off back over to where Ferroseed was. With the electric mite gone, Pikachu zapped Ferroseed with an electric blast. Soon after Pikachu's attack, a small radio hanging from N's belt beeped.

"Yes?" N said into the radio after picking it up.

"Sire, we've gathered enough stones to power the fortress." The voice on the other end of the radio reported.

"Very well, we should be off then." N decided. "Withdraw from the cave at once."

"Yes sire." The voice replied. N placed the radio back onto his belt.

"Well Ash, it seems this encounter has reached its end." N told him. "Perhaps we will meet again. But by then I'll most likely have revived the legendary black dragon. And once that has happened, not even you will be able to stand in the way of my ideals. Farewell for now."

With that, the two kneeling Plasma agents got back to their feet and threw smoke bombs to the ground, covering the area in a thick cloud. When the smoke finally cleared, N and his minions were long gone. Yet the weakened Joltik and Ferroseed were still there.

"That bastard!" Ash shouted. "He preaches about saving Pokemon from the oppression of humans then just abandons his own Pokemon?"

"Wait Ash, try catching Joltik and Ferroseed." Misty suggested.

"Huh?" Ash replied with a dumbfounded expression.

"Just do it." Misty told him.

Against his better judgement, Ash threw a pair of empty Pokeballs at Joltik and Ferroseed. The balls opened up and sucked the two Pokemon in. Then after jiggling on the ground for a few moments they both made the sound that signaled a completed capture. A second later the Pokeballs glowed white and vanished back to Professor Juniper's lab.

"What the…?" a confused Ash spoke.

"Maybe N released them from their original balls in the smoke." Chili theorized.

"I don't think N even had those two in Pokeballs to begin with." Misty assumed. "Think back. When N sent Ferroseed out he called for it to come. And Joltik was just hiding under N's hat."

"But that would mean N was commanding wild Pokemon." Chili pointed out. "Is that even possible?"

"I know it's strange, but I think it's true." Misty told him. "Think back to how N just called for Sandile when he battled Ash back in Nimbasa City."

Ash did indeed think back to that battle, and back to his very first battle with N. Both times N simply called for his Pokemon to come to his side instead of throwing Pokeballs to send them out. Ash began to wonder just what kind of person N really was, and if perhaps his story about being raised by Pokemon in the wild was true.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'd once again like to thank all those who have reviewed this story. In particular I'd like to thank darkmachines, who last review sorta requested for Ash to capture a couple of the Chargestone Cave Pokemon. I wasn't planing to do that originally, but after thinking it over I started to like the idea. Partly because it helped to set up an event in a future chapter. Of course the problem was how to write it into the chapter. But then I asked myself, "what if the Pokemon Ash caught were originally N's?". So that helped me to figure out how to do the battle.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	32. The Stone of Light

**Author's Note:** This ended up being a fairly interesting chapter to write because I ended up combining two different episodes of the anime. Though it might be based more on one episode than the other.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 31: The Stone of Light

Only a day had gone by since Ash and his friends had their last encounter with N. And already they had left the Chargestone Cave far behind them. Mistralton City was only two days away, but they still had a lot of ground to cover. Yet they weren't in any major rush to get there. As the group walked they soon came upon what looked to be a large ruined castle of tan stone atop a nearby hill.

"Hey, that castle looks a little familiar." Ash noticed.

"You're right, it looks a little like that castle in the desert Team Rocket and Team Plasma were fighting in." Misty recalled.

"That's the castle of the castle of the White Hero." A familiar voice informed them in a rude tone. The group turned around to see Trip approaching them. "Not that someone like you people would know that."

"Well, I sure didn't expect to run into you today, punk." Ash greeted. "So are you on your way to Mistralton City too, or did you come for a rematch?"

"Please, that gym is only a waste of time." Trip scoffed. "But I'll let you find that out for yourself. And today I'm interested in battling someone way more powerful than you."

"And just who is this powerhouse trainer?" Ash inquired.

"Alder, the champion of the Unova Region." Trip answered.

"Oh, like Cynthia from the Sinnoh Region?" Misty asked.

"Please, Alder is a thousand times better than her." Trip scoffed. "Battling and defeating Alder is my ultimate goal. I saw him in battle once when I was a lot younger. He was amazing. After that battle I got to meet Alder, and I told him that I wanted to become champion by defeating him. He told me the way to do that was to win battles and keep getting stronger. And that's what I've been doing."

"So Alder is at the castle then?" Chili asked.

"That's the rumor." Trip replied. "Alder is hard to find because he travels around so much. But if there's a chance that he's here I'm not going to pass it up."

"It might be interesting to meet the champion of Unova." Ash remarked. "I hope you don't mind if we tag along Trip."

"Suit yourself." Trip shrugged.

A few minutes later Ash and the others had reached the castle. The sight that greeted them though surprised them a little. At the large entrance of the castle were two people. One of them was Professor Juniper, and she had a very annoyed expression on her face. The other was an older man with fiery orange and red hair that was arranged in long spikes up front like the rays of a sun and tied into a ponytail in back. He had on long white tattered pants, black sandals, and an off-white poncho. Hanging from his shoulders near each side of his neck were two stings, each with three Pokeballs on them.

"Will you please leave me alone already?" a frustrated Professor Juniper demanded.

"Oh c'mon, all I'm asking for is just a short walk with me." The older gentleman requested. "It's a beautiful day out. And you've been studying these old ruins all day. Why not take a break?"

"I told you no! How the hell did someone like you become Unova Region Champion anyway?" Professor Juniper wondered.

"_That guy_ is Alder?" a surprised Misty asked.

"Yeah, it sure is." An equally surprised Trip confirmed.

"Not what I expected." Chili commented.

"Hey Professor!" Ash called as they continued to approach, getting the attention of both her and Alder.

"Oh, Ash and friends." Professor Juniper observed. "And Trip too. This is a pleasant surprise."

"Same here." Ash agreed. "Looks like you already have company though."

"Yes, this is Alder, the Unova Region Champion." Professor Juniper introduced as she tried her best to hide her irritation. "But you probably already knew that. He was passing by here when he saw my father and I investigating the castle and volunteered to help."

"It's nice to meet all of you." Alder greeted the group.

"Maybe all of you could play with Alder for a bit while I go consult my father about something." The professor suggested before quickly excusing herself.

"Alder, you remember me, right?" Trip asked. Alder looked at him thoughtfully for a moment.

"Ah yes." Alder finally answered as recognition finally dawned on him. "How have you been Tristan?"

"It's Trip." He corrected him. "And I came here to challenge you to a battle."

"Actually, I'd like a chance to battle you too." Ash cut in. "I'm actually pretty interested in seeing how strong you are."

"Let's see, Ashton, wasn't it?" Alder asked.

"Um, Ash actually." He corrected.

"Well, why don't you and Tristan take me on together?" Alder suggested.

"No thanks. Beating you with somebody's help won't prove anything." Trip told him.

"Yeah, I'm not crazy about fighting along side Trip either." Ash admitted.

"In that case, you both can battle me one at a time." Alder replied.

"You can battle him first." Trip told Ash as he stepped off to the side. "Losing to Alder might do you some good."

"What an arrogant little…" Misty cursed under her breath.

"All right then. Go Bouffalant!" Alder called as he threw out a Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was a large brown bull-like creature with long white horns and a grey snout and legs and yellow eyes. On each of its horns were two gold rings, and atop it head was a mass of tangled dark-grey fur in a sort of afro-like hairstyle.

"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" the electric rodent cried enthusiastically as he jumped off Ash's shoulder to face Bouffalant.

"I'll let you have the first move." Alder told Ash before crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"Okay Pikachu, hit Bouffalant with Thunder Bolt!" Ash commanded.

"Pik… a… CHUUU!" Pikachu cried as he zapped the bull Pokemon with an electric blast.

Bouffalant cried out as the attack shocked it. Alder meanwhile kept his eyes closed and said nothing.

"Okay Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" Ash ordered.

Pikachu flipped around in the air as his tail glowed and became like a piece of metal and hit Bouffalant hard in the head. The bull Pokemon recovered from the attack. Yet Alder continued to do nothing.

"Is Alder going to tell Bouffalant to attack?" Misty wondered.

"He's probably waiting for just the right moment." Chili assumed. "I mean look at him. See how deep in thought he is?"

"Let's end this quick Pikachu!" Ash told the electric rodent. "Hit Bouffalant with Electro Ball!"

Pikachu charged his tail and formed a ball of electricity before flipping around in the air again and launching the ball like a catapult. Bouffalant was hit again in the face, and still Alder did nothing. The bull Pokemon looked to its master with an irritated expression. Suddenly Alder began to snore.

"He's sleeping?" a surprised Misty realized.

"What?" an equally surprised and disgusted Trip exclaimed.

Bouffalant stomped the ground hard with its hooves, waking Alder up.

"Wha? Oh, sorry. Guess I'm a little tired today." Alder admitted as he scratched the back of his head. "I was up walking all night last night."

Bouffalant charged at Alder and rammed him into the air. The champion of Unova landed in the top of a tree.

"Uh, you okay?" Ash asked as Alder began to climb down.

"Oh, I'm fine." Alder assured him as he got to the ground. "But I think we should call this a battle a win for you. I'm way too tired today."

"Sure, no problem." Ash agreed as he scratched his head, finding it hard to believe he was speaking with someone who was supposed to be a Pokemon League Champion.

Bouffalant meanwhile was still glaring at Alder.

"Now, now. I'm sorry Bouffalant." Alder told the bull Pokemon as he approached. He reached into his pocket and produced an apple. "Here, why don't you have something to eat?"

Bouffalant calmed down after a moment and took the apple from Alder's hand into its mouth. The bull Pokemon smiled as it ate and sat down.

"There, that's better." Alder said as he rubbed Bouffalant's snout. "You just get some rest for now."

With that, Alder called Bouffalant back into its ball. Soon after, Trip approached with a clam yet irritated expression.

"I'm afraid our battle will have to wait for another time Tristan." Alder told him.

"It's Trip." He corrected. "And when we first met you told me that the path to become champion was to keep fighting and get stronger and stronger."

"Hmm… did I really say that?" Alder tried to recall as he stroked his chin. "Well if I did then I'm afraid I gave you some bad advice."

"…You're nothing but a joke!" Trip told him with a surprised and outraged expression. "Fine then! I'll just keep on getting stronger and prove that the path I've been following is the right one by beating you!"

Trip then calmly stormed off away from the group. Ash meanwhile stood by and shook his head.

"Just when I thought Trip couldn't get any more of an ego." Chili remarked.

"Well, there was a time when I did think the same way that young man does." Alder admitted. "But after a while I learned that strength doesn't last forever. Tell me all of you, why is it that you travel?"

"I'm traveling to gain more experience to open my own gym." Chili answered.

"I'm mostly traveling to become a master of Water Pokemon. But also to stay with Ash." Misty admitted.

"And I guess I'm traveling to become a Pokemon Master. Though right now it seems like it's also to deal with some stuff that happened a while back." Ash revealed.

"Excuse the interruption." Professor Juniper cut in as she returned.

With the professor was another older gentleman. He was slender and had grayish-brown hair, and wore a yellow shirt with rolled-up sleeves and grey jeans.

"This is my father, Professor Cedric Juniper." Professor Juniper introduced. "He's an expert on the ancient ruins of Unova."

"It's nice meeting you all." Cedric greeted.

"So what's the deal with this castle?" Chili asked.

"This castle once belonged to one of the two brothers who founded the Unova Region." Cedric explained.

"I told you all before about the legend of the two brothers during the incident with Team Rocket and Team Plasma." Professor Juniper reminded them. "This is the castle of the older brother who commanded the white dragon, Reshiram. My father and I have been studying this castle to try and figure out what Team Plasma took from the other castle."

"Our theory is that it's something that will lead Team Plasma to one of the two dragons." Cedric continued. "There is a story that when the two dragons lost to each other at the end of the great war they both turned to stone and went dormant."

"So Team Plasma's trying to find and awaken the black dragon." Ash realized after recalling what N said at the end of their last encounter.

"That may be the case." Cedric confirmed. "At the moment we're hoping that there might be something in this castle that will lead us to the other dragon."

"Just a few minutes ago we uncovered a hidden door in the castle." Professor Juniper revealed. "It might just lead us to what we're looking for."

"Mind if we help you look for it?" Ash asked.

"Not at all." Cedric gladly replied. "We could probably use all the help we could get."

A few moments later, Ash and the others entered the ancient castle and went through the secret door that the professors had uncovered. The door led them down into a labyrinth of dark underground passages that forced them to use flashlights to navigate. Before long they came to another dead end. The wall that cut off their path had a series of hieroglyphs engraved on a spot near its base. Cedric crouched down to examine them. On the right side of the corridor right next to the wall was a statue that looked like a Darmanitan in Zen Mode.

"What does the inscription say Professor?" Misty asked.

"Press the eyes of the Darmanitan statue…" Cedric began.

"You mean like this?" Chili asked as he did what the inscription instructed.

As soon as he did, the top of the wall slid down and blasted the group with a burst of flames. Ash and the others narrowly hit the ground before being hit by the fire.

"…And receive certain death." Cedric finished.

"Dad, do you remember that little conversation we had about you pausing in the middle of important sentences?" Professor Juniper asked with a smile that attempted to hide her irritation.

"Oh, was I doing that again?" Cedric asked. "Sorry. Anyway, it looks like we've come to a dead end."

"Man, I'm tired." Alder declared as he stood back up and leaned against the wall.

Alder's right elbow pressed one of the bricks in the wall inward. Suddenly the floor beneath Alder, Misty, Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario retracted beneath them, revealing an incline. The five fell down the slide and the floor slammed back shut above them before Chili or the others could do anything. Ash grabbed onto Misty as they fell to try and protect her. Within moments they landed within a darkened corridor.

"You okay Misty?" Ash asked as he held onto her.

"I think so." Misty answered. "Are you?"

"Yeah, looks like I landed on something soft." Ash replied.

"Would you two mind getting off me?" Alder requested beneath them.

In a few moments the group had gotten back to their feet. But a new problem faced them as there was very little light and they had no idea where they were. Ash crouched down with Lucario and put his hand to the stone floor. In his mind's eye, Ash saw the entire labyrinth mapped out before them. And three corridors above them were three blue lights that he could tell were Chili and the professors. There was also another light that was much closer to where he and the others were, but it was so dim as to almost be nonexistent.

"I think we can get to the others from here." Ash told his companions. "Follow me."

"…It seems that Riley has taught you well." Alder remarked a moment after they started work. Ash and Lucario both froze.

"You knew Riley?" Ash asked as he turned around.

"I met him a few years ago." Alder revealed. "He came to Unova with only a Lucario as his companion. Riley told me he had come to Unova to gain experience and we ended up battling. I won, not that that's important. But afterward he trained with me for a few months before heading back to Sinnoh."

"Riley never told me about that." Ash recalled sadly.

"He probably didn't get the chance." Alder assumed. "I was very sorry to hear about his death. He was a good man."

"How did you know that Riley trained Ash?" Misty inquired.

"He reminded me of him for one thing, and not just because of Lucario." Alder explained. "There's a similar quality to them both. And while I may not understand much about Aura, I have seen Riley read Aura like Ash just did a few times before. Plus there aren't very many Aura Guardians left in the world, so it wasn't that big of a leap to guess who trained Ash, who seems to have learned quite well."

"Thanks." Ash replied.

"Yes, well we should get back to finding our way out of here." Alder pointed out.

"Right." Ash agreed as he and Lucario continued to lead the way.

After a few more twists and turns the group came to a large circular chamber lit by faint white light. The light was coming from a small white stone orb on a pedestal in the center of the room.

"There's something about this place…" Ash began to remark as he walked into the chamber.

But before he could finish his thought, the orb on the pedestal burst into white flames. The fire died down a little as the orb lifted into the air a foot off its resting place.

"What is your truth?" a woman's echoing voice asked Ash. "Reveal to me the truth in your heart."

"What's going on?" Misty wondered.

"Hold on." Alder told her.

"What is your truth?" the voice asked Ash again.

"…I don't know." Ash finally answered.

"It seems that you do not know yet." The voice assumed. "But I am certain that you are the one I have been waiting for. When the time comes, you will know what the truth of your heart is. Until then I shall remain as I am in your care."

The white flame died completely as the orb floated over to Ash. Ash reached out and the orb landed softly in his hands.

"What the heck was that?" Ash wondered.

"It seems that we've found the white dragon." Alder deduced. As if on cue, a new passageway in the chamber opened to reveal a set of stairs leading up out of the room. "I think we should be going now. In the meantime Ash, hold onto that stone."

The group took the stairs up out of the room and after a few minutes of walking wound up in the main room of the castle. Chili and the two professors arrived in the room a moment later.

"What the heck happened to you guys?" Chili asked them. "We were just about ready to go get Officer Jenny."

"We just had a little accident. Nothing major." Alder assured them.

"Did you find anything concerning the white dragon?" Cedric asked.

"No, I'm afraid not." Alder answered before Ash or Misty could say anything. "If there was anything here, there probably isn't now. This isn't the first time people have investigated this castle."

"So all this was for nothing then." Professor Juniper sighed.

"On the contrary, now that we know that what we're looking for isn't here." Cedric pointed out. "Which means we have one less place to look. I'm going to have to start examining each and every artifact that's been retrieved from here."

"Well then, I guess I'll go back to the lab." Professor Juniper decided. "Ash, Alder, thanks for your help."

* * *

Alder walked with Ash and his companions for a bit as they left the castle behind them. The sun had already begun to set over the horizon.

"Alder, why'd you have Misty and I lie about finding the stone?" Ash finally asked.

"Professor Juniper and her father would've wanted to examine it, but the stone's meant to be in your hands." Alder answered. "Reshiram has chosen you Ash. And if Team Plasma does succeed in reviving Zekrom, both of you will be needed."

"But Reshiram didn't really awaken to Ash." Misty pointed out.

"That's because there's still something Ash needs to figure out." Alder explained. "But he will in time. And when that time comes, Reshiram will fully revive."

"What do we do until then though?" Ash asked.

"Just continue your journey." Alder replied. "That's how you'll figure out the truth Reshiram asked for back in the chamber. I never got around to telling you all this before, but the reason why I travel is to learn more about the world, and to do what I can to strengthen the bond between humans and Pokemon. But you should all find your own reasons for traveling."

"Then for now I'll just keep going until I figure out the answer to the stone's question." Ash decided.

"And I'll you however I can." Misty told him.

"Same for me." Chili added.

"Well then, until we meet again Ash." Alder said before departing.

"So now what?" Chili asked the others moments after Alder left.

"We may as well stop here for the night." Ash decided. "It looks like we've still got a long road ahead of us."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Those familiar with the anime might've noticed that I switched legendary dragons between Ash and N. In the anime, N awakens Reshiram while Ash awakens Zekrom. There are a couple reasons why I made this switch. The first is because I'd already more or less wrote myself into a corner when I did _Fire for Ice_. I won't say anything further on that subject since it'd most likely be a spoiler for that story. But the bottom line is I had already committed myself.

The second reason is because this way made more sense to me. Here, N is following ideals based heavily on the lies that Ghetsis told him about the world, while Ash is the one who can reveal the truth to him. Plus in the anime, N has already rebelled against Ghetsis and Team Plasma. So I guess those reading could think of the anime as the White version of the Pokemon game and this story as the Black version. Anyway, in the next chapter we come to the second of my favorite Unova gym leaders. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	33. Excuse Me While I Punch the Sky

**Author's Note:** This is another chapter I've been looking forward to doing for quite a while, because it was another opportunity for me to turn an episode of the anime on its head. Some of you reading might recall Skyla's appearance in the anime, and of her unique style of gym battles. It's going to be the same deal here, only the ending will be very different. Also, if you squint close enough you'll be able to see a reference to the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 32: Excuse Me While I Punch the Sky

An uneventful two days had gone by since Ash and his friends were at the castle of the White Hero. Afterwards they found themselves in Mistralton City, the site of Ash's next gym battle. They headed for the gym after swinging by the local Pokemon Center. The directions they had gotten from Nurse Joy led them to the city's airport. But the large building they were told was the gym turned out to be one for an airport shipping company.

"A gym running out of a cargo service? Misty wondered.

"Hey, the last gym was in a mine." Ash pointed out. "Plus the Nacrene City Gym was in their museum and the gym Chili and his brothers run is part of their restaurant. So this doesn't surprise me at all."

"Maybe the arena is someplace cool like on the top of a flying blimp." Chili theorized.

"You read too much manga, you know that?" Misty told him. "Anyway, do we just go in and ask for the gym leader?"

"Excuse me, did you guys come for a gym battle?" a young voice asked.

They turned and standing behind them was a boy with brown hair that looked to be about ten. He had brown hair and wore a yellow polo shirt with a green horizontal stripe on the midsection and blue shorts.

"I did anyway." Ash confirmed.

"Then you'll have to get in line over there." The boy informed them as he pointed. Ash and the others looked to their right and saw a long line of young trainers by a nearby airstrip. "The morning group's all filled up, but you can still make the afternoon group."

"Okay…" Ash replied with a raised eyebrow before the boy dashed off to resume his original place in line.

With no other option, Ash and his companions went over and got on the end of the line. Immediately a man in a grey jumpsuit and blue cap noticed them and came over. He looked as though he was part of the airport's ground crew.

"Are you three here for a gym battle?" the man asked.

"Well I am anyway." Ash replied. "My friends here are sort of my cheering section."

"I'll have to scan your Pokedex to register you then." The man told him.

Ash presented his Pokedex and the man aimed a scanning gun at its screen. A second later a white card with the number fourteen popped out of the back of the gun.

"You'll have to wait until the morning group is finished." The man told Ash as he handed him the card. After that he walked off.

"This must be a popular gym." Misty assumed.

"If all these trainers are willing to wait in line for a challenge, the leader of this gym must be really strong." Chili theorized.

"I don't know. That punk Trip mentioned that this gym would be a waste of time." Ash recalled.

"He probably said that because he lost the battle he had here." Misty theorized. "You know what an ego he has."

"Yeah, maybe…" Ash agreed, though he was still skeptical.

After what seemed like five minutes of waiting, a small red airplane landed on the strip. The pilot who got out was a young woman with tan skin, blue eyes, and reddish-brown hair that was short in the back. Adorning her hair at the front was a light blue propeller-shaped ornament. The rest of her outfit consisted of a light blue top that ended below her chest, tight light blue revealing shorts, and blue boots and gloves. Her top and shorts were connected by blue crisscrossing straps.

"Hello everyone!" the young woman greeted, waving as she did. "I'm Skyla, Mistralton City's Highflying Girl."

The young trainers who were waiting in line all became excited. Ash and the others quickly realized that the gym leader had arrived.

"Now then, please all give a warm welcome to the Pokemon I'll be using to battle." Skyla continued as she threw out a Pokeball. "First up, my Black Courting Heart, Swoobat!"

Emerging from the ball was a cobalt-colored bat-like creature with a large head and black wings. Its pointed ears met at the back of its head and it had a large pink nose with a single heart-shaped nostril. The bat's neck and upper body was covered in white fur, and it had a pink cord-like tail that ended in two prongs that formed a heart shape.

"Next, my Racing Meteor, Unfezant!" Skyla introduced as she threw out a second Pokeball.

Flying out of the ball was a fairly large bird covered mainly in light and dark-grey feathers. Its underside was mint-green and around its eyes was a sort of reddish-pink mask with long ribbon-like feelers at the top.

"And finally, my Elegant White Wings, Swanna!" Skyla introduced as she threw out her final Pokedall.

The Pokemon that flew out of the ball was a large white swan with ornamental tufts of feathers at the sides of its head. On its breast were two large sections of blue feathers shaped similar to the ornaments on its head.

"She's showing all of the Pokemon she's going to use in battle?" a surprised Chili observed.

"She's confident, I'll give her that." Misty remarked.

"Now, who's up first?" Skyla asked.

"That's me." The boy that Ash and the others met earlier answered as he quickly walked up.

"Okay then, send out you Pokemon." Skyla requested.

"You got it. Come on out guys!" the boy called as he threw out three Pokeballs.

Emerging from two of the balls was an Emolga and a Zebstrika. The third was a blue rock-like creature with two legs and red rocky spikes that Ash recognized as a Boldore.

"So are they going to have a triple battle or something?" Misty wondered.

"That's the first time I've heard of a gym battle going like that." Chili replied.

"Let's see…" Skyla said as she looked over the boy's Pokemon thoughtfully. "Your Emolga's electrical attacks would win against my Swoobat, Unfezant would probably lose to Boldore, especially if it used Stone Edge. And my Swanna wouldn't stand a change against Zebstrika's electric attacks. Yep, you win. So as proof, here's the Jet Badge."

"Thanks." The boy replied as he took the badge Skyla handed out. After that he called back his three Pokemon and began to run off.

"What just happened?" a surprised and confused Misty asked.

"Hey kid." Ash called to the boy as he ran past, causing him to stop. "What the heck was that you and Skyla just did?"

"That was an air battle." The boy explained as if the answer was obvious. "They're battles that Skyla plays out in her mind."

"What?" a shocked Chili explained. "And she hands out badges just for that?"

"Okay, who's next?" Skyla asked back at the end of the line.

"I'm next!" answered a young girl with pink hair tied in pigtails. The girl threw out her three Pokeballs, sending out a Snivy, a Pansage, and a Pansear.

"Let's see…" Skyla began. "Well, Snivy and Pansage wouldn't stand a chance against Swoobat and Unfezant's flying attacks. And Pansear wouldn't stand a chance against Swanna's water attacks. I'm afraid that's another victory for me."

"Oh darn!" the girl said disappointedly as she called her Pokemon back and left.

"Who's next?" Skyla cheerfully asked.

"What the hell?" an outraged Chili exclaimed.

"I'll admit that Skyla's Pokemon had type advantage, but that alone doesn't decide a battle." Misty pointed out.

"Damn straight!" Chili agreed. "It's pointless for a gym leader to decide whether a trainer should get a badge or not if they don't actually battle!"

"But they did battle." The boy insisted. "I told you that the battle was in Skyla's mind. Skyla is such an awesome trainer that she can picture how each battle will go in her head. It's like she can see the future."

"You've got a lot to learn kid." Ash told him.

Ash and the others watched as Skyla held her simulated mental battles with thirteen other young trainers. Each so-called battle only took a matter of seconds and ended with Skyla handing out a badge or declaring her own imagined victory. And with each air battle, Chili became more enraged. At the end of the thirteen air battles a member of the airport's ground crew walked up to Skyla.

"Your plane's all fueled up and ready to go." The man informed Skyla.

"Great!" Skyla replied and turned back to the still present line of trainers. "Well everyone, I'm off. I'll see you all again this afternoon."

"Wait a minute!" Chili yelled as stormed up. "I wanna have a word with you!"

"Who's this guy?" Skyla asked the ground crewman.

"Just someone who showed up with the afternoon group." The ground crewman replied.

"Oh, well you'll have to wait until the afternoon for our battle." Skyla told Chili. "Right now I have a plane to fly. Later."

Before Chili could argue any further, Skyla had gotten into her plane and flew off. Chili stood there and watched as the plane faded into the distance while the line of remaining trainers dispersed to return later in the day.

"We've got to go after her!" Chili declared. "Ash, send out Ho-Oh so we can chase her!"

"Chili, she'll be back later in the afternoon." Misty reminded him. "Look, I'm as ticked off about this as you are. After all, my family runs the gym in Cerulean City. But right now there's not much we can do about it."

"But Skyla has to know that those so-called gym battles of her don't fly!" Chili insisted.

"I'm afraid you telling her won't do any good, young man." A voice interrupted.

The group turned and saw an old man with tan skin and grey hair tied back into a short ponytail. He was wearing a lime-green polo shirt with grey slacks and brown leather shoes.

"Who're you?" Ash asked.

"I'm Miles, Skyla's grandfather." The old man answered. "Perhaps you young people would like to have lunch."

* * *

A little later Miles took the group to a small local diner that he seemed to frequent on a regular basis. They all sat at a booth, and after ordering their meal Miles was ready to speak.

"I was the leader of the Mistralton Gym before Skyla." Miles began. "When she was old enough I passed my duties on to her so I could open the shipping business I'd always dreamed of owning. In the beginning, Skyla held normal battles like a proper gym leader, and she was quite skilled. So skilled in fact, trainers from all around came to challenge her. After awhile, Skyla received so many challengers that she no longer had time to fly her planes. So to make time for herself she came up with the idea of air battles."

"Didn't anyone object though?" Misty asked. "It just seems like Skyla's judging who'd win based on type alone."

"Actually, Skyla's battle method was widely accepted." Miles revealed. "Like I said, Skyla had proven herself to be quite skilled. Though I imagine that many of the challengers just see this as an easy way to get a badge."

"Well I don't except this!" Chili declared as he angrily hit the table with his fist. "Mr. Miles, how can you go along with what Skyla's been doing?"

"On the contrary, I don't approve of Skyla's air battles at all." Miles told him. "In fact I've told her that many times, but she won't listen. She's convinced that she doesn't need to bother with battles if she can guess the result."

"That's just stuck-up." Misty remarked.

"I wonder where I went wrong with Skyla." Miles went on. "Maybe I made her a gym leader too soon. But then she always was a little stuck-up, as you put it. I blame the years she spent growing up in Nimbasa City before her parents died when she was ten." He then turned to Ash. "Your name was Ash, wasn't it? If I were you, I'd go look for your next gym battle elsewhere."

"Ash, maybe Miles is right." Misty suggested.

Ash said nothing and simply looked up at the sky through the window. As he did, the waitress came with their order.

* * *

Skyla brought her plane in for landing and saw the same line of trainers from earlier. It was time for another show. But as soon as she disembarked from her plane Chili stormed up to her.

"Oh, you're that guy from earlier." Skyla recalled.

"Do you know who I am?" Chili asked her. "I'm Chili from the Striation City Gym!"

"You're one of those three brothers, aren't you?" Skyla realized. "Well, it's always nice to meet a fellow gym leader."

"You don't deserve to be called a gym leader!" Chili angrily told her. "How could even think that these 'air battles' of yours are an acceptable way of deciding who gets a badge?"

"Jeez, you sound like my grandpa. Look, if I already know the result, why bother battling?" Skyla replied with an arrogant smirk. "Besides, those sweaty gym battles are so yesterday. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got trainers waiting."

"Now wait just a minute!" Chili began to argue.

"Forget it Chili, there's no point." Ash interrupted. "Let's just get out of here and find another gym."

"Who're you?" Skyla asked.

"Trainer fourteen in your afternoon group. But most people call me Ash." Ash answered as he tore up the registration card he had gotten from the ground crewman that morning. "And I can see that I'm just wasting my time here."

"What's the matter? Don't think you have what it takes to beat me?" Skyla asked with a cocky expression. "I can understand that after seeing powerful Pokemon like mine."

"I wouldn't know anything about that since I've never seen your Pokemon battle." Ash pointed out. "Not only are these air battles of yours boring, they don't prove anything. Not the strength of the gym leader or the challenger."

"I don't need to prove anything. My record speaks for itself." Sklya argued, still with a smug expression.

"All it proves is that you were a hotshot gym leader once." Ash argued. "But I bet that since you haven't actually battled for so long you've lost your touch."

"I'll have you know that I'm still as sharp as ever." Skyla told him, this time sounding a little offended.

"Then why not prove it and battle me?" Ash dared. "And I mean an actual battle, not one of those dumb air battles of yours."

"Like I told you before, I don't need to prove anything." Skyla insisted as her arrogant smirk returned. "Besides, I don't want to get Swanna's beautiful feathers dirty."

"Skyla, you've already gotten Swanna's feathers dirty!" Miles argued. "Along with the reputation of this gym."

"Oh please, why do I need to waste my time battling for real when my air battle predictions turn out right?" Skyla scoffed.

"Because you haven't proven anything to me." Ash told her. "I want to see how good you are in a real battle. And I'm sure all your fans here do too."

"Skyla, will you do it?" asked a boy at the front of the line. "I'd love to see you win a real battle."

"I would too." Agreed the girl in line behind him. All the other young trainers began to agree as well.

"Oh fine." Skyla relented with a yawn. "But let's do it tomorrow morning. Right now I'm going to go take a nap. Which means the afternoon's air battles are canceled. Later."

With that, Skyla walked off. Ash turned with Pikachu and Lucario and walked away as well.

"Ash, where are you going?" Misty asked.

"To get ready for my battle tomorrow." Ash answered.

* * *

The morning sun shined high above the open arena of the Mistralton City Gym. As soon as the doors were unlocked the stands were packed with fans eager to see Skyla fight an actual Pokemon battle. Many of these fans were young trainers who had already had an air battle with Skyla. Miles was waiting on the arena floor to act as the referee for the coming battle. At last, Skyla entered the arena with a wave, causing the fans to cheer.

"Where's Ash?" Misty wondered as she looked around for him. "He should be here by now."

"I'm sure he'll show up." Chili assured her.

As if on cue, Ash entered the stadium floor. There were a few people in the stands that cheered as he took his position on the battlefield, but not many.

"This will be a three-on-three Pokemon match!" Miles announced. "Only the challenger will be allowed to switch Pokemon during the battle! Begin!"

"Take off, my Black Courting Heart, Swoobat!" Skyla called as she threw out a Pokeball. Swoobat flew out of the ball and hovered over the battlefield.

"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash commanded.

"Pika!" the electric rodent replied as he jumped off his shoulder.

"Okay Swoobat, use Air Cutter!" Skyla commanded.

"Dodge and use Electro Ball!" Ash ordered.

Swoobat flapped its black wings faster, sending crescent-shaped blades of air at Pikachu. The electric rodent jumped out of the way, causing the blades to hit the ground and kicked up dust. Pikachu dashed around to Swoobat's right as he charged electricity into his tail to create a ball. The ball formed in seconds and soon Pikachu flipped in the air and launched it at Swoobat, hitting the bat Pokemon in the face.

"Use Quick Attack!" Ash commanded. Pikachu jumped back into the air at Swoobat and vanished; only to reappear a second later behind the bat's back and deliver a kick. "Now use Thunder Bolt!"

"Pik… a… CHUUUU!" Pikachu cried out as he zapped Swoobat with a powerful electric blast. When the attack ended, Swoobat fell out of the sky unconscious.

"Swoobat is unable to battle!" Miles declared. "The first round goes to Ash and Pikachu!"

"I knew things would turn out this way if you used that Pikachu of yours." Skyla bragged as she called back Swoobat. "It is an Electric-type after all. But just how long do you expect it to last in this battle?"

"You still don't get it, do you? Battles aren't just about comparing types." Ash reminded her. "There's also the strength of the Pokemon and the bond it has with its trainer. Those air battles of yours don't take that into consideration."

"You can brag all you want if you win, which you won't." Skyla declared as she threw out her next Pokeball. "Take off, my Racing Meteor, Unfezant!"

Unfezant flew out of his ball and circled Pikachu in the air before landing on the battlefield.

"Come on back Pikachu." Ash commanded.

"Pik." Pikachu replied before dashing back over to Ash.

"Let's go Lucario!" Ash ordered.

Lucario nodded and walked onto the battlefield, taking a fighting stance. Unfezant merely tilted his head at the jackal Pokemon.

"Are you sure you wanna do that?" Skyla asked. "It's true that Lucario being a Steel-type means that Unfezant's attacks won't be as effective. But Lucario's attacks won't be very effective either."

"Don't be so sure." Ash told her.

"Whatever." Skyla scoffed. "Use Air Slash!"

Unfezant took back off into the air as his wings began to glow with a blue light. With a flap of his wings the bird send a barrage of concentrated air in the form of bladed discs at Lucario. Lucario crossed his arms over his chest to protect himself from the attack.

"Lucario, use Ice Punch!" Ash commanded.

"What?" Skyla exclaimed.

Lucario jumped into the air at Unfezant with a raised paw that became covered with an icy mist. Lucario's fist impacted Unfezant's chest, freezing the bird's torso in ice. The ice spread to Unfezant's wings, causing him to crash. The ice covering him shattered and Unfezant was left unconscious.

"Unfezant is unable to battle!" Miles declared. "The second round goes to Ash and Lucario."

"You probably didn't imagine that Lucario would know Ice Punch, did you?" Ash asked Skyla as she called Unfezant back to his ball. "That's another thing your air battles probably don't consider. Sometimes trainers teach their Pokemon attacks that help them take on opponents with a type advantage. I spent all of last night helping Lucario to learn Ice Punch for this battle."

"So that's why they were gone last night." Misty realized.

"Big deal. So maybe I missed one little detail." Skyla admitted. "But that isn't going to change the outcome of this battle. Take off, my Elegant White Wings, Swanna!"

The white swan Pokemon flew out of her ball and landed gracefully onto the field before Lucario. She used her beak to scratch under her right wing.

"Okay Lucario, come on back." Ash called. Lucario nodded and walked back over to Ash's side. Ash then got out a Pokeball. "Go… Ho-Oh!"

The great phoenix burst out of the ball and soared into the air on its majestic wings. The audience in the stands was in awe of Ho-Oh's appearance. As were both Miles and Skyla.

"Ash is actually using Ho-Oh in a gym battle?" a surprised Misty asked.

"I guess he's trying to make a point." Chili assumed.

"A… Ho-Oh?" Skyla uttered, still very much in shock. After a moment her normal confident expression returned. "Hah! I'm not worried. Ho-Oh may be powerful, but it's also a Fire-type. Which makes it weak against my Water-type Swanna. Okay Swanna, use Bubble Beam!"

Swanna took off into the air at Ho-Oh and fired a barrage with bubbles from her beak like a machine gun. The bubbles impacted Ho-Oh but seemed to cause little damage.

"You're kidding, right? Ho-Oh is a Legendary Pokemon that's been around for a long time." Ash pointed out. "Your Swanna may have type advantage, but Ho-Oh is still way more powerful. Ho-Oh, use Sunny Day followed by Sacred Fire!"

Ho-Oh shrieked and glowed with a golden aura, and in seconds shot a beam of gold light into the sky. The light of the sun seemed to become more intense. Ho-Oh's eyes began to glow blue and its body became covered in rose-colored flames. With one beat of its wings, Ho-Oh sent a wave of fire at Swanna, knocking her out of the sky. The white swan Pokemon was still conscious however.

"Finish with Solar Beam!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh reared back its head before firing a concentrated beam of sunlight from its beak at Swanna. Swanna was hit hard and fell on her side unconscious.

"Swanna is unable to battle!" Miles declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Ho-Oh!"

Skyla called Swanna back to her ball and fell to her knees in shock. At the same time Ash called back Ho-Oh and walked over with Pikachu and Lucario.

"Maybe now things are starting to sink in. Those air battles of yours don't prove anything." Ash lectured. "You can't always predict how a battle will go based only on type. Sometimes a Fire-type can beat a Water-type depending on the trainer or the experience of the Pokemon. You probably are a really good trainer, but it seems like you let a few too many of your victories go to your head. Either way though, these air battles have to stop, because handing out badges the way you have been make them worthless."

"Yeah… okay." Skyla replied as she got to her feet. "Well, uh, I should… I should get Swanna and the others to the Pokemon Center, so… later."

With that, Skyla turned and walked out of the arena. As she did, the young trainers she awarded badges to in her air battles threw them away down to the arena floor.

* * *

Ash and his companions had gathered outside the doors of the gym. They did not say a word to one another since the end of the gym battle.

"Ash, don't you think you were a little too hard on Skyla?" Misty wondered, finally breaking the silence.

"I think Ash made the right call." Chili told her. "Skyla needed to learn that those stupid imaginary battles of hers don't work."

"Yeah, but using Ho-Oh." Misty argued. "How many trainers out there can actually beat a Legendary Pokemon with that kind of power?"

"Cynthia did once." Ash reminded her. "There's no unbeatable Pokemon out there."

"I know but… it seems like you weren't even giving Skyla a fighting chance." Misty pointed out.

"I think Ash did the right thing." Miles interrupted as he walked up to them from the gym. "Skyla needed to lose in order to learn that her air battles mean nothing. Her defeat may have been a harsh one, but I think it will do her some good."

"I hope so." Ash told him.

"It seems that Skyla forgot to give you something before she left." Miles told Ash as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a badge in the shape of a feather. "This is the Jet Badge you won for beating Skyla."

"Thanks, but I'm starting to wonder if I really deserve it." Ash admitted. "Misty made a good point. I usually only use Ho-Oh when I don't really have a choice."

"You earned this badge by reminding Skyla of its value." Miles replied. "And of her limitations. At the very least you can accept it as my thanks for doing that."

"Okay, thanks." Ash relented as he took the badge and placed it in his badge case.

"Well, I better get back to my business." Miles decided. "It was nice meeting you all."

With that Miles walked off towards another building at the airport. Ash and the others meanwhile headed for the Pokemon Center.

"So what now?" Chili asked. "Do we head off to the next gym?"

"…Let's stay here for now." Ash decided. "I kinda want to make sure everything's okay before we leave."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Out of all the Unova gym leaders, Skyla is one that I both like and hate for some reason. When I first saw her debut in the anime I wanted to walk into my TV and slap her. To me those air battles of hers were just simply arrogant. Of course in the end Skyla learned her lesson in the anime. But I felt like she didn't learn it hard enough. That's one of the things I like about doing this story. It's a way for me to show how I think things should've gone down in the anime.

So gym battle number six may be out of the way, but I'm not done with Skyla yet. So stay tuned. In the meantime I'd like to pose a question. Do you think Ash was too hard on Skyla in this chapter? Please review and let me know what you think.


	34. Broken Wings

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 33: Broken Wings

The sun was beginning to set upon Mistralton City as Skyla came to the very top of the Celestial Tower to view it. Many knew the Celestial Tower as they mass gravesite of Pokemon in Unova. But Skyla mainly came for the high view of the tower's roof. She went up there often to think, and she had a great deal to think about after her bone-crushing defeat at Ash's hands. Skyla kept replaying the battle over and over again in her mind, as well as what Ash told her after it was over.

"Wow! What a view!" declared a woman's voice, getting Skyla's attention.

Skyla turned her head and saw admiring the view a few feet away a young woman with long blond hair with streaks of pink in it. Standing next to her was a young man with dark-blue hair wearing red sunglasses.

"What'd I tell ya Sheila? This place is one of the best viewing spots in all of Unova." The young man told her female companion.

"So Sid, are you really gonna challenge the leader of this city's gym?" Sheila asked him.

"You bet babe, and it's gonna be the easiest badge I'll ever get." Sid confidently confirmed.

"But I've heard things about this gym leader, Skyla." Sheila informed him. "They say she's really good."

"Relax babe, I got it covered." Sid assured her. "All I have to do is use those three Pokemon I caught I Chargestone Cave on the way here."

"But you've hardly trained those Pokemon." Sheila pointed out.

"That's the beauty of this gym, I don't need to." Sid told her. "The word is all Skyla has challengers do is show what Pokemon they plan to use against her, and if those Pokemon have type advantage over hers she hands out a badge. It's that simple."

"Really? That's all?" Sheila asked.

"Yep. And all of Skyla's Pokemon are Flying-types. So all I gotta do is just show her those three Electric Pokemon I got and I'm golden." Sid bragged.

"Wow. That's actually kinda lame for a gym leader to just hand out badges like that." Sheila laughed. "And here I thought she was this powerful trainer."

"Well, maybe she was a one point. But I guess she just lost her edge or something." Sid speculated. "Whatever happened though, this gym badge is in the bag."

"Yeah, I guess I have nothing to worry about." Sheila agreed. "Hey, I'm hungry. Wanna get a bite to eat?"

"You read my mind babe. I'm starving." Sid answered.

Sid and Sheila then left, not once noticing that Skyla was there and had heard every word of their conversation. Once they were gone, Skyla fell to her knees and broke into tears. It had become clear to her that as a gym leader she was considered a joke.

* * *

Morning came and Ash and his friends were getting ready to leave the Pokemon Center and were preparing to head for their next destination. Though Ash remained hesitant to go, as he was still concerned about Skyla. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he had been just a little too hard on her. Just as the group was about to head out the door, Miles walked in with a somewhat troubled expression on his face.

"Have any of you seen Skyla since the battle?" Miles asked them.

"No, why?" Ash asked.

"She never came home last night." Miles explained. "And this morning when I went to the gym the place was still locked up. Plus all of her planes are still in the hanger."

"You think something happened to her?" Misty asked.

"I'm not sure." Miles replied. "But I am starting to think that she might be taking her defeat to Ash a little too hard. Either way though, I'm a little worried."

"If you want, we can help look for her." Chili offered.

"I'd appreciate that." Miles agreed. "We'll split up and search the city."

With that, Miles and Chili left the Pokemon Center. Misty and Ash meanwhile hung back for a moment.

"Ash, couldn't you find Skyla by her Aura?" Misty asked.

"Sure, but… I'd like to talk to her alone." Ash answered. "For now, why don't you go help Miles and Chili? There's something I want to take care of first."

"…Okay." Misty agreed after a moment. After a moment she left the Pokemon Center to help with the search.

* * *

Skyla stood once again on the roof of the Celestial Tower looking over the city. She had actually spent the entire night up on that roof, mainly because she couldn't go home to face Miles. Skyla had realized that her grandfather was probably very disappointed in her. After all, she had pretty much ruined the gym's reputation.

"Quite a view from up here." A familiar voice commented, causing Skyla to turn and see it was Ash. "Reminds me of the Tin Tower in Ecruteak City. You should check that place out if you're ever in Johto."

"What do you want?" Skyla asked in a tone that indicated that she didn't want to be disturbed.

"Well, for one thing I thought you should know that your grandpa's looking for you." Ash replied. "But… I mainly came up here hoping we could have another battle."

"Didn't Grandpa give you a badge?" Skyla asked.

"He did, but I don't really think I earned it yet." Ash revealed. "There are certain ways I don't like to earn a badge. And getting a badge for a battle like we had yesterday just doesn't feel right to me. So I was really hoping you'd agree to a rematch."

"Why don't you just leave?" Skyla requested. "I'm in no mood to battle right now."

"Look, I understand how bad it can feel to lose. I've been there." Ash told her. "And it probably feels worse for someone like you who's won so many times before. But the trick is not to let it get you down. You may have lost the last battle, but there's always the next one."

"…Okay." Skyla agreed after a moment as she took out a Pokeball. "Take off, my Black Courting Heart, Swoobat!"

The cobalt bat flew out of its ball into the air over the battlefield. Ash then pulled out a Pokeball of his own in response.

"Go Joltik!" Ash called as he threw out the ball. The tiny electric mite emerged and jumped onto the battlefield.

"You're fighting me with that little thing?" Skyla asked with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I guess Joltik's an Electric-type, but it's a Bug-type too."

"You're making judgments based only on type again." Ash pointed out. "Not to mention size."

"Whatever." Skyla scoffed. "Use Air Cutter!"

"Dodge and use Electro Web!" Ash ordered.

Swoobat flapped its wings and sent blades of air down at the ground towards Joltik. Joltik quickly hopped out of the way, leaping high into the air. The electric mite landed back on the ground on Swoobat's right and spat an electrified web into the air. The electric net snared Swoobat and delivered a powerful electric shock, causing the bat to drop to the ground.

"Now! Hit Swoobat with Electro Ball!" Ash commanded.

Before Swoobat could recover and break free of the web, Joltik crackled with electricity and focused the energy into a single spot on his forehead, creating a ball in a matter of seconds. Once the ball became bigger than the mite's body, Joltik fired it, hitting Swoobat in the face.

"Attack with Heart Stamp!" Skyla ordered.

"Dodge and use Slash!" Ash commanded.

Swoobat broke free of the web and fired a heart-shaped beam of pink light from its nose at Joltik. Joltik leapt back into the air at Swoobat a split second before the attack hit. With a single clawed foot, the electric mite slashed Swoobat in the face, knocking the bat Pokemon out cold. Discouraged, Skyla called Swoobat back to its ball.

"Take off, my Racing Meteor, Unfezant!" Skyla called as she threw out her next Pokeball.

The large game bird Pokemon flew out of his ball and soared into the air. At the same time, Ash called back Joltik.

"Go FerroSeed!" Ash called as he threw out a different Pokeball. The spiked metal seedpod spun out onto the field. "Use Gyro Ball!"

"Dodge and use Aerial Ace!" Skyla commanded.

Ferroseed spun up into the air at high speed towards Unfezant. The bird swiftly flew out of the seedpod's path and then came around and struck Ferroseed in with his beak. Ferroseed was knocked to the ground, but at the same time Unfezant cried out in pain.

"Unfezant, what's wrong?" Skyla called up.

"Looks like he was hurt by Ferroseed's Iron Barb ability." Ash explained. "Okay Ferroseed, use Gyro Ball one more time!"

The seedpod Pokemon quickly recovered and spun back up into the air at high speed. This time Ferroseed hit Unfezant in his left wing, knocking him out of the sky.

"Now use Mirror Shot!" Ash ordered.

Ferroseed landed back on the ground and the sun began to reflect on its metal armor. Just as Unfezant was getting back to his feet, Ferroseed hit him with a concentrated beam of light. Unfezant fell back to the ground unconscious. Skyla called back Unfezant with a frustrated expression on her face.

"Take off, my Elegant White Wings, Swanna!" Skyla called as she threw out her third and final Pokeball.

Swanna flew out of the thrown ball and landed gracefully onto the battlefield. At the same time, Ash called Ferroseed back to his ball.

"Go Servine!" Ash called as he threw out a third Pokeball. The grass lizard burst out of her ball to face Swanna.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" Skyla demanded to know. "I know you've been going easy on me!"

"Believe me, I haven't." Ash calmly assured her.

"Yeah right! From the start of this battle you've been using Pokemon with a disadvantage to mine!" Skyla pointed out. "You're probably trying to let me win so I'll feel better about myself."

"Trust me, if I was trying to let you win you wouldn't have lost two Pokemon already." Ash pointed out.

"Don't lie to me!" Skyla told him, almost shouting. "Why else would you use a weak Grass-type like that against my Swanna?"

Servine seemed to take great offence to Skyla's remark, as it caused her to glare at the Flying-type expert. A moment later Swanna squawked something to Servine in an insulting tone. In response Servine cried out and suddenly glowed with a white light and changed shape. When the light cleared she had become a ten-foot long snake-like creature. Her legs had completely vanished and her hands became simple leaves. Her back, chest, and tail had become dark-green while her underside and had become pale-green along with the top of her head and snout and the back of her neck. The snake's face and the front of her neck were white, and at her neck was a sort of long curled collar with a yellow interior. On the back of the snake's head had grown what almost looked like a pair of pointed ears with a yellow interior, and the end of her tail had become a sprig of leaves. On the snakes lower back was a pair of swirling yellow stripes.

"Was not expecting this." Ash said to himself as he got out his Pokedex to find out what Servine had become.

"Serperior, the Regal Pokemon, and the evolved form of Servine." The Pokedex identified. "Serperior uses solar energy to boost its internal power. It only uses its full strength against opponents that are not intimidated by the glare of its noble eyes."

True to the Pokedex's entry, Serperior began glaring at Swanna with her ruby-red eyes. Swanna only responded by squawking and spreading her wings. At that moment, Misty, Chili, and Miles arrived on the scene.

"Ash, what's going on?" Misty asked. "Are you and Skyla battling?"

"What does it look like?" Ash pointed out.

"Whoa! Ash's Servine evolved!" Chili quickly realized.

"Evolved or not, there's no way Swanna and I will lose to a Grass-type!" Skyla declared. "Swanna, use Brave Bird!"

Swanna squawked and flew low at Serperior at high speed as her body glowed with a flaming blue aura. The swan hit Serperior with incredible force, knocking the grass snake back a foot. Swanna was sent back with an equal amount of force and her body crackled with blue sparks.

"Swanna looks like she was hurt by that attack too." Misty noted.

"Brave Bird is a powerful attack, but also causes the user great damage." Miles explained. "It seems that Skyla is really trying to prove herself."

"Hit Swanna with Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.

Serperior extended a pair of green vines from the inside of her collar and launched them at Swanna. Still recovering from her own attack, Swanna was struck hard on her wings by the whips.

"Attack with Hurricane!" Skyla commanded.

Swanna began to flap her wings hard and soon a high wind picked up on the top of the tower. As the winds began to blow Serperior back, the grass snake cried out and a green twister of leaves suddenly formed around her.

"Serperior just learned Leaf Storm." Chili observed.

With a twist of her body Serperior sent the leaf-filled tornado through the winds at Swanna. The swan Pokemon was hit hard by the attack and knocked out. With Swanna out cold the winds finally died down. Skyla called Swanna back to her ball and glared at Ash.

"I see what you were trying to do now. You were trying to show me how weak I am!" Skyla told Ash angrily.

"Skyla, that's not true." Ash insisted.

"Oh please! Everyone knows that I'm a joke as a gym leader! You don't have to rub my face in it!" Skyla yelled. "Well I'll show you all. I'll train and get strong again! Then I'll prove to the world I have what it takes to be a gym leader!"

"Skyla, wait!" Miles called after Skyla as she stormed off, but Skyla did not listen. He sighed heavily after Skyla disappeared down the tower stairs.

"Ash, did you challenge Skyla to another battle?" Misty asked.

"I thought it would help get her confidence back." Ash explained. "But it looks like it only made things worse."

"She seemed to be a little reckless in that battle." Chili noted.

"It's probably been so long since Skyla's had a real battle that she's gotten sloppy." Miles noted. "This might've been a good battle for Skyla in the long run."

"I just wish I could've done more to help though." Ash told him.

"You've done more than enough, Ash." Miles assured him. "The rest is up to Skyla now. I'm going to see if I can't talk to her."

"We'll probably be leaving the city for the next gym in a bit." Chili informed him.

"Well then, it was nice meeting you all. Take care." Miles replied before walking off.

Ash gave off a heavy sigh.

"Cheer up Ash." Misty told him with a reassuring smile. "Look at it this way, at least Servine evolved."

At that moment, Servine slithered over to Lucario and circled his legs with her body. The grass serpent then gave Lucario a rather predatory smirk as she extended her whips and used one of them to gently make circles on Lucario's chest, causing his eyes to go wide. The other whip began to stroke the back of his left ear. The jackal Pokemon was starting to feel rather uncomfortable.

"Sser serper serr per ser." Serperior said in a rather seductive tone, causing Lucario to blush and break out in sweat. Ash noticed this and quickly called Serperior back to her ball, causing Lucario to breath a sigh of relief.

"Maybe Servine evolving isn't such a good thing." Ash noted.

"Still, things aren't as bad as you think Ash." Chili retorted encouragingly. "Thanks to you, Skyla's all fired up again. And more importantly you put an end to those stupid air battles of hers."

"That's a real shame." A very familiar voice interrupted. "I rather liked the idea of those air battles. It's so much nicer for Pokemon not to actually battle."

The group all looked and immediately saw N walking towards them. Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario immediately took a fighting stance.

"N!" Ash responded with a glare.

"Hello Ash." N greeted with a warm smile. "Seems like we just keep running into each other."

* * *

**Author's Note:** And we'll end there. Mostly because it seems like I haven't ended on an exciting cliffhanger for a while. So you might've noticed that Ash's Serperior came onto Lucario near the end of the chapter. I did a little checking and found that Lucario and Serperior are compatible for producing an egg. At the moment I'm not sure if I'll do anything more with this or not though. I mostly did it to imply that using that Attract/Vine Whip combo so many times may have twisted Serperior's mind a tiny bit.

Anyway, we have not seen the last of Skyla in this story. Please review and let me know what you think.


	35. Uncertain N

**Author's Note:** It seems like I got some mixed reaction from Serperior coming onto Lucario in the last chapter. I intend to keep running with it for now though. If for no other reason than because it's amusing. Anyway, major _Star Wars_ reference in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 34: Uncertain N

"What the hell are you doing here N?" Ash demanded to know.

"Don't worry, I didn't come to battle this time." N assured him as he walked up to the group atop the Celestial Tower. "I've been told that it's still going to be a while before I can awaken the black dragon. I only came here today because I heard about these air battles that the gym leader used to hand out badges. It's so much better when Pokemon don't have to actually fight."

"That's rich coming from you." Misty retorted. "You say you don't like Pokemon battles, yet you make wild Pokemon fight for you."

"I battle only because I'm fighting for a cause." N argued. "And the Pokemon who fight at my side are willing to fight for me. Unlike all the Pokemon that you trainers enslave."

"Take a good look at Pikachu and Lucario, N." Ash told him. "Do they look enslaved to you?"

"I will admit that they do seem happy to be in your presence." N answered. "That is why I first thought that you were different from other trainers. But can you say the same for the Pokemon that you always keep in Pokeballs? The ones that you only let out if they serve some selfish purpose?"

Suddenly Ferroseed and Joltik emerged from the Pokeballs on Ash's belt. Right away, N recognized the two Pokemon.

"My friends from Chargestone Cave?" N recognized. "Ash, how could you?"

"How could you just abandon them at the cave?" Ash retorted.

"I did not abandon them!" N argued. "They volunteered to keep you busy while I made my escape. You had no right to simply capture them!"

"Tik Joltik tik." Joltik spoke to N, getting his attention.

"What? You're saying that you like being with Ash?" a surprised N asked the electric mite.

"Seed ferro fer seed." Ferroseed replied.

"Being with Ash makes you stronger?" N asked the seedpod Pokemon. "How can that be?"

"All our other Pokemon will tell you the same thing." Ash told him. "Our Pokemon are our partners. And together we work to become stronger."

"No… no, that can't be!" N denied as he backed away. "Pokemon and humans can't exist together without bringing Pokemon pain! It's a simple equation that cannot be argued!"

"Then how can you explain what you just heard from your own Pokemon friends?" Ash pointed out. "I'd check your math if I were you N, because your equation came up with a wrong answer."

"No! I refuse to believe it!" N insisted. "No matter how you try to sway me, I will stick to my ideals!"

With that, N ran off down the stairs of the tower. Chili began to give chase.

"Let him go Chili." Ash told him as he got to the first step, causing him to pause.

"But Ash, he's dangerous." Chili reminded him.

"And he's probably got more of his henchmen with him." Ash pointed out. "I don't want to fight if I don't have to."

"But Ash, he's the leader of Team Plasma. And he's trying to bring back a powerful Legendary Pokemon." Misty reminded him.

"Look, N's probably long gone already." Ash told them. "And besides… I just don't think I can face him right now."

"Ash…" Misty began to argue.

"Would you guys give me some space right now?" Ash requested. "Pikcahu, Lucario, and I would like to be alone right now."

"…Okay Ash." Misty relented. "Chili and I will be waiting for you down outside the tower."

* * *

Ash stood atop the tower looking out over Mistralton City for what seemed like over an hour with Pikachu and Lucario. He was still very confused about N. Before Ash was convinced that N was evil like Cyrus and Giovanni. But his latest encounter with the leader of Team Plasma had left him uncertain. It did seem like N really thought he was doing what he felt was best for Pokemon, but Ash couldn't help but wonder if it was all an act.

"I really wish you were here right now Riley." Ash said to himself.

_"I have always been with you Ash."_ A very familiar voice spoke from behind.

Ash and his two Pokemon companions turned around and saw two figures that appeared to be made of blue transparent light. One of the figures was another Lucario. The other was a rather handsome-looking man with hair that looked black despite the blue tint, and wore a blue suit with a black shirt and tattered blue fedora. Hanging from his neck was a sort of oddly shaped necklace.

"Riley…" a very surprised Ash spoke.

_"I guess you're pretty surprised to see me and my Lucario standing here."_ Riley observed with a small chuckle.

"So… those times when I thought I heard you talking to me…" Ash recalled.

_"That really was me."_ Riley confirmed.

"But why…?" Ash began to ask.

_"Why is it that you can seem me now? Because before you weren't ready I guess."_ Riley explained. _"Or were you going to ask why I had to die that day."_

"Well… that thought did cross my mind." Ash admitted with a hurt expression.

_"It was so you could survive."_ Riley told him. _"My Lucario and I sacrificed ourselves so that you, Looker, and the Lake Guardians could all get out. Our deaths were our choice."_

"But I should've been able to do something." Ash argued. "If I was only stronger back then…"

_"There was nothing you could've done."_ Riley told him. _"And it was my duty to protect you. Not just because you were my apprentice, but because you are the chosen one."_

"What does that mean?" Ash asked.

_"…I guess it's time you knew the whole truth."_ Riley began. _"Ash, it's no coincidence that you have the power of Aura and captured Ho-Oh. Your coming has been foretold among the Aura Guardians for a very long time. There is a prophecy that says that one Aura Guardian chosen by Ho-Oh to be its champion and partner will rise and stand against the Dark One, a great evil that threatens to destroy the balance between human Pokemon."_

"And this Dark One, is it N?" Ash asked.

_"I was wondering when you'd get to that question."_ Riley replied. _"That is the reason why I'm before you now, isn't it? The truth is I don't know if N is the Dark One or not. But I have my doubts."_

"But N and Team Plasma are trying to separate humans and Pokemon." Ash pointed out.

_"True, but for what reason is N trying to do this?"_ Riley asked.

"He says he's trying to help Pokemon, but…" Ash began.

_"But you're not sure if you believe him."_ Riley finished.

"N had me fooled from the beginning." Ash pointed out. "I didn't think for a second that he was the leader of Team Plasma."

_"Just like you didn't think that Cyrus was the leader of Team Galactic. But you have to remember Ash that N is not Cyrus."_ Riley pointed out. _"And you won't stop him by assuming that he is. The only way to stop N is to figure out the truth of who he is."_

"But how do I find that out?" Ash asked.

_"I think you already know the answer to that."_ Riley told him. _"In time the truth about N will come out. And with that truth will come the power to stop him."_

"I figured you'd say something like that." Ash sighed.

_"What kind of teacher would I be if I made things easy for you?"_ Riley chuckled. _"For now, just continue on your journey. The answer will come to you in time."_

"Alder said something like that too." Ash recalled.

_"Well, he is a wise man."_ Riley reminded him. _"Take care on your journey. I'll be there should you ever need me."_

"Thanks Riley." Ash replied with a small tear. And with that the spirits of Riley and his Lucario vanished.

Moments later Ash and his two Pokemon exited the tower. Misty and Chili were there waiting for them right outside the door.

"Everything okay?" Misty asked.

"Better I guess." Ash answered. "I guess we've spent enough time here in Mistralton City. Where to next Chili?"

"The next gym should be Icirrus City." Chili answered as he consulted his map. "It's going to take us awhile to get there though."

"Then I guess we should start walking." Ash decided.

* * *

Ghetsis stood looking at the stone tablet recovered from the castle of the Black Hero with a scowl. He was annoyed that the translation of the tablet's text was taking so long. But he was willing to be patient a little longer. After all, he did have to put a lot of time into the first part of his plan. The wicked sage was disturbed from his thoughts when the door to the room opened behind him and N walked in.

"Could I have a word with you father?" N requested.

"Certainly my son." Ghetsis replied. "What troubles you?"

"I ran into Ash Ketchum again today." N began. "It turns out he captured two of the Pokemon I befriended at Chargestone Cave. But the thing is… those Pokemon told me that they like being with Ash. That they're stronger for having him as a trainer."

"Probably because that young man forced them to say that." Ghetsis told him. "You must remember N that Ketchum is a Pokemon Trainer. And like the rest of his kind he enslaves Pokemon."

"But… his Pokemon don't seem enslaved." N pointed out.

"Because they've been conditioned my son." Ghetsis argued. "His other Pokemon have been with him for so long that they've forgotten what it's like to think for themselves. But you will remind them my boy. You will help them remember what it's like to be free. But in order to do that you must hold to your ideals. That is the only way you will gain the power to change the world."

"Yes… yes you're right father." N agreed after a moment. "I shouldn't have doubted myself."

"Quite right my son. Now run along, I'm sure your sisters have dinner waiting for you." Ghetsis told him.

"Yes father." N replied before leaving the room.

Ghetsis turned back to the tablet and continued to scowl. Ash was proving to be a major problem to his plans. If it were up to Ghetsis he wouldn't need to use N at all. But the fact was N was an important piece to his plans, the only one who could awaken the black dragon. Which was why he needed to do everything he could to keep N on the path he had set out for him.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I'd like to once again thank darkmachines for requesting that Ash capture some of the Chargestone Cave Pokemon. I put a lot of thought into what Pokemon the characters in these stories catch. It all comes down to how I can work them into the story, not to mention how big of a role they might play. And Joltik and Ferroseed ended up playing a pretty big role in showing N that he might be wrong Anyway, I had decided since working on _Scourge of Galactic_ that I'd have Riley and his Lucario show up again as a couple of those blue ghosts from _Star Wars_. This won't be the only chapter where they appear like that.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	36. Gods of Wind and Thunder

**Author's Note:** This chapter is actually going to focus on Bianca rather than Ash and his gang. That's right, the stuff that happened in Nimbasa City was only the beginning.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 35: Gods of Wind and Thunder

An entire week had gone by since Ash and his friends were in Mistralton City. Midday had come and the group decided to stop by the road to have lunch. After they had finished eating, Ash and Misty decided to have a battle to train their Pokemon. It was a double battle with Ash using Tirtogua and Ferroseed and Misty using Dewott and Corsola. The battle was nearing its conclusion as Pikachu took a nap in the grass and Lucario sat meditating on a rock.

"Ferroseed, finish Corsola with Gyro Ball!" Ash commanded. "Tirtogua, take down Dewott with Ancient Power!"

The ancient turtle Pokemon shot a white ball of light from his mouth at Dewott, hitting the samurai otter in the face and knocking him on his back. At the same time, Ferroseed spun like a top and collided into Corsola's side. Both aquatic Pokemon were knocked out by the assault.

"Dewott and Corsola are unable to battle!" Chili declared from his position on the field as referee. "Victory goes to Ash, Tirtogua, and Ferroseed!"

"Well, seems like Tirtogua and Ferroseed's training is going well." Misty noted as she called back her two Pokemon. "I'm still kinda surprised that you sent Serperior back to Professor Juniper's though."

"I thought it'd be good for Ferroseed to be my main Grass Pokemon for awhile." Ash explained as he called back his two Pokemon. "Plus it seemed like Lucario could use a break from Serperior."

Lucario's eyes had gone wide since Serprerior's name was mentioned. A blush came to the jackal Pokemon's face as he thought about his last encounter with the grass snake. But Lucario shook it off and resumed his meditation. Only a second later though, Pikachu woke up and his ears seemed to perk up to something. At the same time, Lucario opened his eyes again and looked off into the distance at something that he could not see with his eyes.

"What is it guys?" Ash asked upon quickly noticing how alert Pikachu and Lucario had become.

In answer to Ash's question the sound of thunder boomed loudly and thick black clouds began to roll in. Very soon the wind began to pick up and the group could see lightning flash in the distance.

"We better find shelter, fast!" Chili said to the others.

"You three!" a voice suddenly called. The group looked and saw an old woman with grey hair wearing a brown dress and pink shawl. "Come here! Quickly!"

The group heeded the old woman's call and ran towards her. The old woman quickly led them into a small yellow cottage on the side of the road. As soon as they were all inside, the old woman firmly shut and latched the door behind them.

"You're lucky I was out picking herbs at the time and saw you, or else you would've been stuck out in that dreadful storm." The old woman told them as she went over to sit in an old wooden rocking chair with pink cushions. "Go ahead and have seat."

"Thanks for letting us take shelter in your house." Misty said gratefully.

"Not at all dear. It's never good to be caught out in a storm." The old woman replied. "Especially if it's a storm caused by one of _them_."

"Them?" Chili repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Tornadus and Thundurus." The old woman explained. "Surly you've heard of those Pokemon."

"The names do sound familiar, but I can't place them." Chili admitted.

"Ash and I are from Kanto. So we don't know about all of the Pokemon that live in Unova." Misty explained.

"Oh, then let me tell you young people a little story." The old woman began. "Long ago there were three great Pokemon with the powers of the elements. They were Tornadus, who had the power of wind, Thundurus, who commanded the power of lightning, and Landorus, who had power over the earth and would provide the people with bountiful harvests. Unfortunately Tornadus and Thundurus were often at odds with one another, and their rivalry would bring destruction to the land. In time the two caused so much destruction that Landorus had to intervene and put a stop to it.

"In the end, Tornadus and Thundurus were beaten so badly by Landorus that they fled. With the destruction of the land put to an end, Landorus went off to parts unknown. But to this day Tornadus and Thundurus still run wild through the land, making it a point to avoid each other lest Landorus return to smite them again. But wherever the two go they cause great storms like the one going on now."

"You really think that this storm is being caused by Tornadus or Thundurus?" Chili asked.

"This storm is most likely Thundurus' work, judging by the lightning." The old woman assumed as a bolt of lightning flashed outside.

"What do you think Ash?" Misty asked.

"…There might be something to that legend." Ash replied as he looked out the window with Pikachu and Lucario.

* * *

Bianca walked through the raging thunderstorm that was coming down. She was determined not to let a little rain and lightning stop her on her journey. Certainly not when things were going so well. After the incident in Nimbasa City, Bianca had gone off the beaten path and found a small out of the way city with a certified Pokemon Gym that used Fighting-types. The gym battle had proven quite easy thanks to her Frillish, and as a result not only did Bianca win a gym badge, her Frillish evolved into a Jellicent as well. Bianca was well on her way to proving to her father and the world just how strong she really was.

But the storm was quickly getting worse and Bianca finally decided to give up for now and find temporary shelter. But just as she was about to do so, a Pokemon suddenly appeared from a powerful bolt of lightning. The creature looked to be almost five feet tall. His upper body was humanoid and was blue with irregular purple spots, not to mention quite muscular. His eyes were yellow and he had two pointed ears. A single purple horn grew from his forehead. On the creature's face was a white spike mustache and he had white wavy almost zigzagging hair growing from the back of his head. The Pokemon's lower body was a white cloud, and curving around from the back was a purple cord-like tail strung with dark-grey spiked balls.

Bianca was simply in awe of this Pokemon. As much as she liked cute adorable Pokemon, she also liked tough-looking muscular Pokemon. But this Pokemon was more than tough. It was pure power, and Bianca found that she wanted it. As quick as she could, Bianca got out her Pokedex to find out what she was looking at.

"Thundurus, the Bolt Strike Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Legends say that this Pokemon flies around Unova shooting lightning bolts everywhere it goes, leaving a trail of charred remains."

"Okay then, I'm going to catch you!" Bianca declared as she threw out a Pokeball. "Go Minccino!"

Minccino emerged from his ball to face Thundurus. But before Bianca could even issue a command the thunder deity zoomed off at high speed, knocking both Bianca and Minccino to the ground. Bianca's head hit the side of a small rock and she was out cold.

* * *

Bianca awoke after an uncertain amount of time to find an upside-down face staring at her from above. It was blue and had no nose, only a squinting pair of eyes and a crooked mouth.

"Wobbuffet." The creature said to Bianca, startling her into sitting up. At the same time a previously unconscious Minccino woke up to Bianca's cry.

"Wobbuffet, the Patient Pokemon." Bianca's Pokedex identified from the ground next to her hand. "Wobbuffet does everything it can to hide its black tail, making some people think that it has some sort of secret."

"Well now, what do we have here?" a voice suddenly asked.

Bianca turned her head to see a woman with long purplish-red hair approaching. She was wearing what looked to be a combination of black suit and dress. Minccino suddenly ran up to the woman and climbed up to her shoulder.

"What a darling Pokemon." The woman complimented. "Is it yours?"

"Uh, yes." Bianca confirmed as she got to her feet. "I'm Bianca, by the way. Is this your Wobbuffet?"

"It is actually." The woman confirmed. "I got him in sort of an odd accident. My name's Jessie."

"It's nice to meet you." Bianca greeted with a bow.

"So what were you doing on the ground?" Jessie asked.

"Well I was out in the storm and saw this amazing Pokemon." Bianca explained. "I tried catching it but it flew off so fast that poor Minccino and I got thrown to the ground. I guess we got knocked out."

"Why don't you and Minccino come back with me to my family's blimp?" Jessie suggested. "You could probably use the rest."

"Okay." Bianca agreed. "But only for a bit. After that I wanna go after that Pokemon I saw."

* * *

Jessie led Bianca to the large black airship that she, James, Persian, and her mother used to get around Unova. Bianca was instantly in awe upon seeing.

"This blimp really belongs to your family?" Bianca asked.

"Yep. She's called the Bandit." Jessie confirmed. "We spared no expense in having her built."

"So what is it that your family does?" Bianca inquired as they continued to the blimp.

"We're bounty hunters." Jessie answered. "We bring in criminals for money. And we do a few odd jobs on the side."

In moments the four boarded the Bandit to find James and Persian inside waiting for them. Jessie greeted James with a peck on the cheek.

"I see you brought a guest back from your little stroll." James observed.

"Her name's Bianca. Wobbuffet and I found the poor girl and her Minccino passed out on the side of the road." Jessie explained. "I thought she could come aboard to rest for a bit."

"It's nice to meet you." Bianca greeted.

"Feel free to make yourself at home." James told her.

"I hope you don't make it a habit of bringing in strays Jessie." Persian cut in with a rye expression, surprising Bianca. "We hardly have the room aboard this ship."

Bianca stared wide-eyes at Persian, hardly believing her ears. She started looking from the cat Pokemon to James and back again.

"Um, are you doing ventriloquism with that Pokemon?" Bianca asked James.

"Hardly." James and Persian answered together, surprising Bianca even more.

"Wait, so… you can actually talk?" Bianca asked Persian.

"All Pokemon are able to talk. I'm just able to speak your language." Persian joked.

"Wow. So… were you born being able to speak human?" Bianca inquired.

"No, I had to learn the skill." Persian answered. "The long of the short of it is that I was trying to impress a female of my pre-evolved species. Of course in the end the tart only saw me as a freak and wanted nothing to do with me."

"Oh, sorry to hear that." Bianca replied.

"Don't feel too bad, my dear. In the end she wasn't worth the effort." Persian assured her. "I was simply young and foolish."

"Care for something to drink Bianca?" James offered. "I believe we have some soda in the fridge."

"Okay, but only for a few minutes." Bianca told him. "After that I getting back out there to find that Pokemon."

"What Pokemon is that?" Persian asked.

"Thundurus." Bianca answered. Jessie, James, and Persian all looked at one another.

"You do realize that Thundurus is a Legendary Pokemon." Persian informed her. "Not the kind of prey that just any trainer can capture."

"I don't care. I'm going to catch him." Bianca insisted.

"In the meantime, why don't I get you that drink?" James suggested as he walked out of the room."

* * *

Bianca sat at a table in the large cockpit in the Bandit drawing on a tablet of blank paper. Minccino was sitting on the corner of the table watching her draw. Wobbuffet stood next to her doing the same thing. At that moment, Persian walked into the room.

"And what are you working on so diligently?" Persian asked as he jumped up onto the table.

"I'm coming up with a plan to catch Thundurus." Bianca answered as she showed the talking cat a crudely drawn three-step diagram of her trap. "See, all I have to do is set some sort of bait for Thundurus under a tall tree. When Thundurus comes to check it out, I'll just pull a rope that will drop a net on him from the tree. Then all I have to do is just weaken Thundurus and catch him. Now all I have to do is figure out what to use for bait."

Persian simply looked at Bianca for a moment. "…You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why? Don't you think it'll work?" Bianca asked.

"My dear, one thing my friends and I learned the hard way time and again is that elaborate schemes like this one do not work for capturing Pokemon." Persian told her. "And it certainly won't work with a Legendary Pokemon like Thundurus."

"But then how am I supposed to catch Thundurus then?" Bianca asked.

"If I were you kid, I'd quit while I was ahead." A voice chimed in. Bianca looked to see Miyamoto enter the room with Jessie and James.

"Who're you?" Bianca asked.

"I'm Jessie's mother, Miyamoto." The former elite Rocket agent answered. "And trust me when I say that chasing after a Pokemon like that usually leads to a lot of wasted years."

"But I have to catch Thundurus." Bianca insisted as she stood up. "I have to in order to prove to everyone that I'm strong. Everyone thinks I'm too weak to handle being a Pokemon Trainer. My dad, Misty, everyone!"

"Misty?" Jessie quietly noted in surprise.

"I trained hard, and thanks to the one person who didn't think I was weak and became stronger." Bianca continued. "But it still isn't good enough! That's why I have to catch Thundurus, to prove to myself!"

"…Okay then." Miyamoto spoke after a moment. "James, those old legends about Thundurus say that he causes thunderstorms wherever he goes."

"Checking the weather for any massive storms like the one that forced us to land earlier." James replied as he went over to a computer consul.

"What're you doing?" Bianca asked.

"You want to catch Thundurus, right? First we need to find him." Miyamoto explained.

"There's another severe storm like before outside Nacrene City." James reported.

"Our thunder god certainly gets around quickly, doesn't he?" Miyamoto remarked. "Track the storm as closely as you can. Persian, start the engines. We're going on a little hunt."

"Thank you." Bianca told Miyamoto as Persian hopped off the table and went over to the blimp controls.

"Don't thank me yet, girl. Tracking Thundurus should be easy, but catching him is all on you." Miyamoto pointed out before leaving the bridge. Jessie followed after her.

"Mother, why have you decided to help Bianca all of a sudden?" Jessie asked.

"I guess I feel a little sorry for her." Miyamoto shrugged. "And you heard her back there. She's determined to catch that Pokemon. We've got nothing better to do at the moment, so the least we could do is make things just a little easier for her."

"But you don't think she has a chance of actually catching Thundurus, do you?" Jessie pointed out.

"Let's just say I have my doubts." Miyamoto answered. "You seem like you've taken a shine to her though. Could it be because you share a common enemy?"

"You mean that twerp, Misty?" Jessie replied. "Well, I can understand wanting to get back at her. But I also know what it's like to have people think of you as nothing but a joke. So do James and Persian."

"Well then, I guess we'll just have to hope Bianca can actually accomplish what she's set out to do." Miyamoto told her before continuing her path down the hall.

* * *

The Bandit set down on a grassy hill overlooking the storm they had been tracking. Bianca sat outside the blimp with Persian and Wobbuffet. A tan bag was sitting on the ground at Persian's side.

"Are you guys sure that the storm is going to head this way?" Bianca asked.

"Well you can never truly predict the weather. But satellite imagery is rarely wrong." Persian assured her. "So, you said that your father doesn't seem to think you're strong enough to be a Pokemon Trainer."

"I'm sixteen and I've only really started my journey. That's because he wouldn't let me go when I was ten." Bianca explained. "Then awhile ago in Nimbasa City he came to drag me home. He only sees me as some helpless little girl."

"That must be frustrating for you." Persian remarked. "What about Misty?"

"She's put me down from the moment we met." Bianca answered. "Even after I beat her that one time. It's probably because I started my journey so late. Her friends Ash and Chili probably feel the same way about me, though they probably hide it."

"You said that there was one person who didn't see you as weak." Persian recalled. "It seems you at least have one friend out there."

"Yeah, she was a big help to me in Nimbasa City." Bianca replied. "I can't tell you her real name, but she calls herself Noir Mask. She's really cool."

"Oh… we've all met her, actually." Persian revealed as he recalled the time he, Jessie, and James were expelled from Team Rocket. "All of us except for Miyamoto that is. In retrospect she did us a great favor, though at the time we didn't think so. Anyway Bianca, do you really think that catching Thundurus is the only way to get others to acknowledge your strength?"

"I know it is." Bianca told him. "And I'll do whatever it takes to catch him."

At that moment, the sky darkened and the sound of thunder boomed in the air. In seconds a huge bolt of lightning struck the ground a few feet away from Bianca, Persian, and Wobbuffet, and Thudurus emerged from it. Bianca immediately got to her feet.

"You're not getting away from me this time Thundurus!" Bianca declared.

Thundurus began to fly off, but suddenly found that an invisible force was holding him in place. Bianca and Persian were surprised by this and began to look around for what was holding the thunder deity. They glanced down at the ground and saw that the shadow being cast by Thundurus was extending to Wobbuffet's base.

"Woobbuffet." The blob-like creature said as he brought his arm to his forehead as if saluting.

"What's going on?" Bianca asked.

"Wobbuffet is using his Shadow Tag ability to keep Thundurus from escaping." Persian explained. "Why, old friend?"

"Are you trying to help me catch Thundurus?" Bianca asked the blue Pokemon.

"Woob." Wobbuffet replied with a nod of his body.

Meanwhile, Thundurus figured out that Wobbuffet was holding him in place. He brought his arms forward and blue electricity began to come to his hands.

"It seems Thundurus has figured out what's going on too." Persian realized. "Quickly Bianca! Have Wobbuffet use Mirror Coat!"

"What?" Bianca asked in confusion. Meanwhile Thundurus shot a bolt of lightning down towards the blue blob. Bianca realized she had to act. "Wobbuffet, use Mirror Coat!"

Wobbuffet's body began to glow with a reflective white light as the bolt of lightning came towards him. The bolt hit but reflected back up at Thundurus, hitting the thunder deity with double the force. Thundurus recovered and began to charge up for another attack.

"Use Mirror Coat again!" Bianca commanded. Thundurus shot another lightning bolt down at Wobbuffet, only to have the blob reflect it back. The thunder deity charged up for another shot. "Again!"

The third lightning bolt hit Wobbuffet and was sent back like the first two. Thundurus had taken a great amount of damage. Seeing this, Persian went over to the bag that was on the ground and pulled out a Pokeball that was black on the top half and had a vertical yellow stripe. The cat nudged Bianca on the hand, causing her to notice and take the ball.

"That's an Ultra Ball." Persian explained. "It should be powerful enough to hold Thundurus. Use it now!"

"Ultra Ball, go!" Bianca called as she threw the ball high into the air at Thundurus.

The ball hit and sucked the thunder god in, only for him to burst out a second later. Thunderus then charged another lightning bolt and shot it down towards Wobbuffet.

"Quick Wobbuffet! Use Mirror Coat one more time!" Bianca commanded.

Wobbuffet quickly shrouded himself in another reflective coat of light, sending the blast back up at Thundurus. After being hit, the blue blob seemed like he was on his last legs. But Thundurus had taken a great amount of damage as well. Persian quickly handed Bianca another Ultra Ball.

"This looks like our last shot. Take it!" Persian told her.

"Ultra Ball, go!" Bianca called as she threw the second ball into the air at Thundurus.

The ball hit the thunder deity in the face and sucked him in. This time the ball dropped to the ground and jiggled on the ground. Bianca, Persian, and Wobbuffet watched the ball intently, hoping that Thundurus wouldn't escape. But after what seemed like an eternity the ball stopped moving and made the sound that signaled a completed capture. The sky above became clear once again.

"I… did it." Bianca said to herself in disbelief.

Persian walked over and picked Thundurus' ball with his mouth and set it at Bianca's feet. "I believe this is yours now."

"Oh! Thank you." Bianca replied as she came to her senses and picked up the ball.

Suddenly Wobbuffet fell to the ground on his side, causing Bianca and Persian to worry.

"Return, Wobbuffet." Jessie called as she approached, the signal beam from her ball catching the blue blob and sucking him in.

"Uh, sorry I borrowed Wobbuffet without asking." Bianca apologized with a bow.

"Don't worry about it. I'm actually glad he could help you." Jessie assured her. Bianca suddenly noticed Minccino was on Jessie's shoulder.

"Minccino really seems to like you." Bianca noted.

Before Jessie could respond, the sky suddenly became dark with clouds again. A twister quickly appeared before them, vanishing a second later to reveal another Pokemon that looked almost identical to Thundurus. Though there were some significant differences. His skin was green instead of blue, and he had two horns on his head instead of one. The white hair growing on the back of the Pokemon's head was in the shape of a wing. His tail, which curved around to his front, was thick and purple, and curved at the end into a swirl. Running along the back of the tail were several khaki bumps that curled like the end of the tail.

"There's another Pokemon like Thundurus?" a shocked Bianca asked as she got out her Pokedex.

"Tornadus, the Cyclone Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "The massive energy Tornadus expels from its tail is powerful enough to cause severe storms that are strong enough to blow away houses. Legends say that Tornadus shares a brutal rivalry with Thundurus."

Before Bianca or the others could react, Tornadus flew off with a gust of wind that knocked them both to the ground. The sky cleared again after the wind deity departed.

"I don't believe it." Bianca declared as she and the others got to their feet. "I didn't think there were any other Pokemon out there like Thundurus."

"Actually, Thundurus is part of a trio of Pokemon. The second member of which you just saw." Miyamoto revealed as she walked out of the blimp with James. "I owe you an apology Bianca. It seems you really were able to catch the mighty Thundurus after all."

"Well, I had a little help actually." Bianca admitted. "But… now that I know about Tornadus I want to catch him too. Though I don't know how I'll be able to without Wobbuffet."

"Bianca, how would you like to make a little deal?" Jessie suggested.

* * *

Bianca and her new companions went to the Nacrene City Pokemon Center to have Thundurus and Wobbuffet treated. Once they were done, Jessie and Bianca used one of the Pokemon Center's trade machines to exchange Pokemon with one another. The trade only took a few seconds.

"Are you sure you're okay with trading me Wobbuffet for Minccino?" Bianca asked as she took Wobbuffet's Pokeball from the machine.

"The fact is you need Wobbuffet's help to catch Tornadus." Jessie pointed out. "And I think you'll be a much better trainer for him anyway. But are you okay with trading me Minccino."

"Of course I am." Bianca assured her with a smile. "Minccino really seems to like you."

"Now that that's all settled, it seems we have another storm to chase." Miyamoto reminded them. "I'm sure Tornadus has gotten very far away by now."

"You guys really don't have to help me." Bianca told them. "I can go after Tornadus on my own."

"Nonsense, it'll be much easier on you if you had a ride." Miyamoto argued.

"Besides, you might need our resources to figure out where to find Landorus, the third member of the trio." James pointed out.

"This really means a lot that you're helping me do this." Bianca replied. "Thank you."

"Just stick with us Bianca, and soon the whole world will acknowledge your strength." Miyamoto assured her. "Even that boy and his little friends."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yep, Ex-Team Rocket is back too. Bet those of you reading didn't see that one coming (unless I implied it in a previous Author's Note). Anyway, the Kami Trio is a group of Legendary Pokemon that sort of grew on me because of their big role in the actual anime. So I wanted to include them somehow in this story. My first thought was to have Miyamoto catch Landorus and have Jessie and James catch the other two. But then I remembered how Bianca liked buff Pokemon in the anime and something just clicked.

We'll leave off here on the Bianca story line for now and get back to Ash and his friends in the next chapter. So stay tuned. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	37. Burning Heart

**Author's Note:** It seems the previous chapter of this story has gotten a lot of raised eyebrows. So at the moment it seems like this whole story line with Bianca might just be one of my weirder ideas. But like I said last time, we'll just table that story line and get back to it later. In the meantime I ask those of you reading to keep an open mind.

Anyway, Chili is going to take center stage in this chapter. This one is based on the anime episode where Ash confronts the original trainer of his Tepig. The title of this chapter is borrowed from the song _Burning Heart_ by the band, Survivor. The song was used in the movie, _Rocky IV_, which is admittedly not the best of the _Rocky_ films. There are going to be a few references to _Rocky IV_ though. And a small reference to _Rocky III_.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 36: "Burning Heart"

An uneventful week and a half passed since Ash and his friends almost got caught in the odd thunderstorm. After it had passed they immediately continued their long trek to Icirrus City. The weather slowly became colder as they pressed on, forcing them to dress a little more warmly than usual. Before long they started seeing more and more snow on the ground. It seemed like winter had come to that part of Unova. But at last the group spied the halfway point to their destination in the distance, a little community known as Ember Town, the Town of Burning Hearts.

The group was about to enter the town when Pikachu's ears perked up to a rustling in the bushes. Suddenly a Pokemon leapt out into their path. It was a small red chimp-like creature with a yellow face, outer ears, stomach, hands, and feet. A red flame blazed on its rear.

"A Chimchar?" a surprised Ash identified.

"What's a Chimchar doing in Unova?" Misty wondered.

Before anyone could venture a guess, Tepig suddenly emerged from his Pokeball at Chili's waist. The fire pig and chimp glared at one another before Chimchar suddenly leapt into the air and came at Tepig with a flying kick shrouded in fire. Tepig quickly darted out of the way before the kick could make contact.

"Wow! That was Blaze Kick!" Chili identified. "Okay Tepig, fight back with Flame Charge!"

Tepig came around to Chimchar's right and dashed at the fire chimp as he became shrouded in flames. Chimchar responded by raising a fist covered in fire and delivered a powerful punch to Tepig's snout just as the fire pig's attack was about to hit. The two attacks seemed evenly matched, but after a few seconds Chimchar lost its ground and was soon run down by Tepig. When it was over, Chimchar seemed to be on its last legs.

"Pokeball, go!" Chili cried as he threw and empty ball at the chimp.

The ball hit Chimchar on the forehead and sucked it inside. The ball jiggled for a few moments before making the noise that signaled a completed capture.

"Yes! I got it!" Chili excitedly declared as he went over and picked up the ball.

"Yeah, and that can probably only mean one thing." Ash commented gravely.

"What do you mean?" Chili asked.

"Chili, you do know that Chimchar are pretty rare in the wild, right?" Misty pointed out. "In fact they shouldn't even be here in Unova."

"That's right, they're usually given out to new trainers in Sinnoh." Ash added.

"Wait, so that would mean…" Chili began to realize.

"Someone probably abandoned that Chimchar." Ash confirmed. "It did look pretty beat up when it came at us."

"Well either way, we should get Chimchar to a Pokemon Center." Chili decided.

As soon as the group entered town they immediately headed for the Pokemon Center. It was quite a few minutes before Nurse Joy came out with Chimchar's Pokeball. Tepig had remained with out to wait with Chili and the others.

"How's Chimchar?" Chili asked as he got to his feet.

"He's just fine." Nurse Joy assured him as he handed the ball over.

"Nurse Joy, do you think that Chimchar was abandoned?" Ash asked.

"Yes, and I think I know by who." Nurse Joy sighed. "There's a young trainer here in town named Anton Drago. They call him the Red Star of Fire. Apparently he specializes in raising Fire Pokemon. But there's a rumor that he abandons Pokemon that don't live up to his satisfaction."

Tepig gritted his teeth at the mention of the name of this trainer who apparently abandoned Chimchar. Pikachu and Lucario both took notice to Tepig's reaction.

"This Drago guy sounds like a lot of other trainers I've come across before." Ash remarked. "Is he still in town?"

"Yes, but I'd avoid him if I were you." Nurse Joy answered. "They say he's supposed to be pretty tough. Now if you'll all excuse me…"

"So what now?" Misty asked after Nurse Joy left.

"Come on out Chimchar!" Chili called as he threw out the ball.

Chimchar emerged before the group and gave them all a mistrusting eye. Tepig stepped up and reassured the fire chimp in his own language.

"Don't worry little guy. You can trust all of us." Chili assured Chimchar after kneeling down to face him.

Suddenly Darumaka burst out of one of the Pokeball's on Chili's belt and went over to Chimchar. The little fire Pokemon enthusiastically shook Chimchar's hand. Soon Chimchar began to relax.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'd like to have a word with the this guy, Drago." Chili told Ash and Misty as he stood back up.

"Let's go find him then." Ash decided.

The group walked through town for a few minutes before learning the whereabouts of the trainer they sought. Drago was apparently in the town square showing off his prized Pokemon. They found him surrounded by a large group of people. Drago was a young but muscular man with slick blond hair and ash-grey eyes. He had on a black coat with a furred collar and cuffs, along with black pants and black gloves and boots. On the left breast of the coat was a large red star.

Drago had three Pokemon out. One was a Pokemon that was foreign to Ash and Misty. It was a sort of bipedal anteater with a beige head and lower legs. The rest of the creature's body was red, and on the torso were vertical yellow stripes. Its arms ended in long curved yellow claws and around its wrists were beige-colored bands with indentations that resembled some sort of vents. Its red tail looked like a pipe, and running on its back and lower torso was a sort of beige piping. Ash got out his Pokedex for a closer look.

"Heatmor, the Anteater Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Heatmor breaths using the hole in its tail."

The second Pokemon was one that Ash and Misty were more familiar with. It was somewhat humanoid with a bulky figure. Atop its head was a single flame and it had thick pink lips on its face. Its tail was completely enveloped in flames, and its torso had a red and yellow pattern of flame-like stripes. On the creature's upper arms were black shackles and its forearms were like yellow cannons. Ash and Misty knew this Pokemon as a Magmortar.

Drago's third Pokemon was an Emboar, but it was different from the one Ash and his friends had seen in the past. The normally red parts of its body were blue, including its beard of flames. The swirling pattern on its torso was a light-blue color rather than a normal gold.

"Come one and all!" Drago called to those passing by. "Witness the strength and power of my fire warriors! What you all see before you now are my three finest specimens. The power of my Heatmor and Magmortar are unmatched by any other member of their species. But the strongest of my warriors is truly my Emboar, Ivan. Not only is his Heat Crash attack a force to be reckoned with, his Arm Thrust and Fire Punch attacks deliver an incredible amount of force. Simply put, whatever Ivan punches, he destroys."

"Hey!" Chili called into the crowd, causing them to part.

"Can I help you?" Drago asked as Chili approached.

"I have a serous bone to pick with you!" Chili told him as he stormed up to him with Tepig and Darumaka.

Drago quickly noticed Chimchar riding on Chili's shoulder. The fire chimp glared back at him.

"Oh, its seems that you have the Chimchar I threw out." Drago coldly observed. "You'd only be wasting your time trying to raise that one. It shows absolutely no promise as a fighter."

"How can you say that about a Pokemon?" a horrified Misty asked.

"I'm only telling you the truth." Drago replied with an arrogant smirk. He glanced down and noticed Tepig glaring at him, causing him to chuckle. "Well, whoever you are it seems you've made it a hobby to collect my rejects."

"Wait, you're the one who abandoned Tepig?" a shocked Chili asked. "All because he lost to a Grass-type?"

"Try five Grass-types." Drago replied. "Those results were simply unacceptable. The Chimchar did even worse. I gave both of those Pokemon my best effort, but in the end they were just rejects."

"Are Pokemon just things to you?' Ash asked with anger in his voice.

"Hardly." Drago chuckled. "But the fact is there simply strong Pokemon and weak ones. And for generations my family has worked to bring forth the strongest Fire Pokemon. Through selective breeding, hard training, and the right combination of status enhancers such as Protein and Calcium, we have created champions. But of course the process isn't perfect. Every now and then there are rejects like that Chimchar and Tepig. Somehow the weaker traits seem to take over at time."

"You abandoned them just because you think they had genes?" an outraged Chili exclaimed. "That's heartless!"

"Ah, one of those sentimental types I see." Drago replied with a cold smirk. "Just who are you, anyway?"

"Chili of the Striation Gym!" he answered.

"The Striation Gym?" Drago laughed. "There is no Striation Gym anymore. The word is it closed down."

"…What?" Chili uttered in disbelief.

"Seems that the two brother running the gym decided they couldn't do it anymore." Drago went on. "Maybe because the third brother, which I assume is you, left them high and dry. But then it's probably for the best. After all, what kind of gym needs three gym leaders to run it? If you couldn't do it alone you shouldn't have bothered. I guess it's somehow appropriate that you ended up with my reject Pokemon."

"That's it! No one insults my family's gym and gets away with it!" Chili proclaimed. "I'm challenging you to a battle Drago!"

"A battle, eh? I suppose that could be amusing." Drago agreed. "But I can't do it today I'm afraid. I'm a busy man. But I will be back in this town in four days. Care to wait until then?"

"Fine!" Chili agreed.

"There's one other condition." Drago added. "It'll be a triple battle. My three champions against your two rejects and that pathetic-looking Darumaka."

"Deal!" Chili agreed again.

"Meet me back here on this spot in four days at noon then." Drago told him. "I'll be waiting."

"I'll be here!" Chili angrily assured him.

* * *

Chili sat looking depressed and somewhat angry outside of the Pokemon Center with Tepig, Chimchar, and Darumaka. Ash and Misty looked out at them with concern inside through the window with Pikachu and Lucario.

"Looks like what Drago said about the Striation Gym closing down really shook Chili up." Ash observed.

"He's probably blames himself for the gym closing down." Misty assumed.

"I guess we should have a talk with him." Ash decided.

"I'll handle that." Misty told him. "Maybe you could make a call and see if you can find out why the gym closed."

"I'm on it." Ash agreed before walking off with Pikachu and Lucario to use the Pokemon Center's PC.

Misty headed out the door and sat down next the Chili on the stone bench outside the center. Chili turned his head to face her for a moment before looking back down at the ground.

"How're you doing?" Misty asked.

"Well, I guess I've been better." Chili sighed. "Feels like I really put my foot in it this time."

"More like you feel like you let down Cilan and Cress?" Misty guessed.

"Yeah, I guess that's more like it." Chili admitted. "You know it was my idea to open up a gym. My brothers and I made such a good team I thought we could open up a gym that'd be the strongest in Unova. But then I decided to travel with you guys and screwed it all up I guess."

"Chili, you decided to go with me and Ash to get stronger." Misty reminded him. "There's nothing with wanting to be strong on your own."

"Maybe. But I've also wondering if there really is something to what Drago said." Chili replied. "Maybe I can't be strong on my own. Maybe I've already gotten as strong as I can and can't do any better without my brothers or you guys."

"It is only when a person start to believe something like that when they truly reach the limits of their strength." A voice interrupted.

Misty and Chili looked up to see a man with light-blue hair approaching them. Tied to his head was a blue mask that covered the top half of his face. The rest of his outfit consisted of a blue robe with a snowflake pattern that failed to cover his right arm and shoulder, a pair of dark-blue pants that ended in white cuffs above his ankles, and a pair of light-blue shoes. Chili stood up and looked at the masked man in awe.

"You're… you're…" Chili began to say.

"Who are you?" Misty asked the masked man before Chili could identify him.

"I am Brycen." The masked man answered. "Is one of you Chili?"

"He is." Misty answered, pointing to the redheaded young man who was still in awe of Brycen.

"A few weeks ago I ran into your brothers." Brycen informed Chili as he took out an envelope from his robes. "They asked me to deliver a letter should I run into you, as they did not think it would reach you by normal post. You look exactly as they described you."

"You're…" Chili said again as Brycen held out the envelope.

Misty sighed and grabbed the envelope. "Thanks. I'll give it to him if his brain ever turns back on."

"Good luck in your battle, Chili." Brycen told him with a nod before turning to leave.

"…Misty, do you know who that was?" Chili asked her excitedly.

"Will you just take a look at this letter from your brothers already?" Misty told him as she handed him the letter.

"Oh, right." Chili replied as he took the letter. Ash walked out with Pikachu and Lucario as Chili opened the envelope.

"Well? What's it say?" Misty inquired.

"Dear Chili." He read aloud. "We hope that the letter reaches you on your travels. Though considering whom the deliveryman is, we're sure that it will. You've probably heard by now that the gym is closed down. That's because we both decided to follow your example and strike out on our own. We were a formidable team, but each of us has dreams and ambitions of our own. You were the one who had the courage to follow those dreams first. And by doing so, you've given both of use to do the same. Good luck on your journey. Signed Cilan and Cress."

"See Chili? Your brothers didn't close down the gym because you let them down. They closed it because you inspired them to do better." Misty said encouragingly.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Chili realized as a smile returned to his face.

"Looks like you've got a lot of work to do in the next four days." Ash reminded him.

"You bet!" Chili agreed with the pump of his fist. "Tepig! Darumaka! Chimchar! Let's get to work so we can beat Drago!"

* * *

Over the next four days, Chili and his Pokemon trained diligently in preparation for their battle through intense physical exercise and battles with both Ash and Misty. At last the time had come and Drago was waiting in the town square with his three Pokemon. Already a large crowd had gathered to watch the coming battle. Ash and Misty were among them. But there was no sign of Chili.

"Where's Chili?" Misty wondered as she looked around. "It's already been five minutes since noon."

"Don't worry. He'll show up." Ash assured her.

"It seems I haven't missed anything yet." A voice spoke. Ash and Misty looked and saw that it was Brycen.

"Oh hey Brycen." Misty greeted.

"You know this guy?" Ash asked.

"Oh yeah. Ash, this is Brycen." Misty introduced. "He's the one who delivered that letter to Chili four days ago."

"Nice to meet you." Ash greeted as he shook Brycen's hand. "Never met a deliveryman who wore a mask before."

"I prefer to keep my true face hidden from the public." Brycen explained. "Say, is that your Lucario?"

"He is, actually." Ash confirmed.

"It's been years since I've one in the flesh." Brycen revealed.

"Drago!" Chili's voice called out, interrupting the conversation.

The crowd parted to allow Chili to enter the square. Drago looked back at him with an arrogant smirk.

"I was beginning to think you backed out." Drago told him. "Not that I'd blame you of course."

"Don't you know anything? The hero is always fashionably late." Chili replied.

"Fine then. Send out those three reject Pokemon of yours." Drago demanded.

"They're not rejects!" Chili told him as he threw out his first Pokeball. "Go Pignite!"

The fire pig burst out of his ball, revealing that he had indeed evolved. Pignite glared at his shiny fully evolved counterpart.

"Now! Go Darmanitan!" Chili called as he threw out the second ball. The newly evolved fire ape emerged and stood next to Pignite. "And finally, the Chimchar you only thought was trash! Go Monferno!"

The fire chimp emerged from his ball, revealing his new form. He had grown to over two feet tall and his fur had become orange. Each of the primate's upper arms had gained a gold band and he had grown shaggy white fur around his neck. His brow had become blue and the bridge of his nose had turned red. From his rear had sprouted a long tail that ended with a tall flame.

"So they evolved. But evolved trash is still trash." Drago scoffed. "Ivan! Heatmor! Magmortar! Take your positions!"

Drago's three Pokemon took their positions on the battlefield. Ivan stood on Chili's left to face Pignite while Heatmor stood in the middle across from Darmanitan. And Magmortar stood on the right across from Monferno.

"Before this battle is over… I will break you." Drago declared, signaling the start of the fight. "Ivan, attack that weak Pignite with Fire Punch! Heatmor, use Slash on Darmanitan! And Magmortar, use Thunder Punch on that pathetic Monferno!"

"Pignite, dodge and use Stone Edge!" Chili commanded. "Darmanitan, use Substitute! Monferno, attack with Mach Punch!"

Ivan the Emboar charged at Pignite with a raised fist covered in flames. Pignite sidestepped the attack and two rings of sharp stones appeared around his body with a flash of white light. The stones orbited around Pignite before hurling themselves at Ivan, hitting the shiny fire boar in the back. Meanwhile, Heatmore charged at Darmanitan and raised the claws on its right arm high. At the same time, Darmanitan glowed briefly with a white light and a copy of himself sprung from his body.

"What kind of attack did Darmanitan just use?" Misty wondered.

"It's called Substitute. The Pokemon using it sacrifices some of its energy to create a sort of copy that can block attacks." Brycen explained.

"Chili must've taught that attack to Darmanitan before he got here. Because he sure didn't use it when he was training with us." Ash recalled. "That's probably why he was late."

Once the anteater Pokemon got in range it brought down its claws and slashed the copy hard in the face, causing it to vanish. Meanwhile, Magmortar rushed at Monferno with a raised fist charged with electricity. Quickly, Monferno jumped at the magma creature and hit it in the face with a glowing red punch. Magmortar recovered and rammed its electrified fist into Monferno's abdomen, shocking the fire monkey. Monferno seemed to have trouble moving after the attack.

"Oh no! It looks like Monferno was paralyzed." Misty observed.

"This battle might be over sooner than I thought." Drago gloated. "Ivan, hit that weak Pignite with Arm Thrust! Heatmore, use Slash again on Darmanitan! Magmortar, hit Monferno with another Thunder Punch!"

Magmortar struck Monferno with another electrified punch to the face. Ivan meanwhile began to pummel Pignite with his fists. But as the attack continued Pignite's expression changed to one of rage.

"Now Pignite's getting beat up." A worried Misty observed.

"He's not getting beat up, he's getting mad." Ash told her.

Heatmor slashed Darmanitan hard in face. Suddenly Darmanitan flashed pink before changing into a blue statue.

"What? A Zen Mode Darmanitan?" Drago exclaimed.

"I was surprised too when Darumaka evolved." Chili confirmed. "Okay Darmanitan, use Psychic on Ivan! You hit Ivan too Pignite! Flame Charge!"

Darmanitan's eyes glowed blue, and suddenly Ivan was lifted up into the air and sammed back into the ground. Before the fire boar could recover, Pignite rammed into Ivan hard with a body covered in flames. Ivan was hurled back ten feet, forcing some of the surrounding audience members to quickly duck out of the way before the fire boar hit the brick wall of a nearby building. Ivan was knocked out cold.

"Impossible!" Drago protested. "There's no way Ivan could lose to a reject like that Pignite!"

"Then explain how Ivan is over there on the ground." Chili retorted. "Monferno, use Acrobatics on Magmortar!"

Monferno recovered from Magmortar's last punch and flipped into the air over the magma creature, hitting Magmortar hard in the back of the head with his foot. Upon landing, Monferno twirled around and struck the magma creature in the back with a punch, followed by a roundhouse kick.

"Damn it! Heatmore, attack Monferno with Fury Swpies!" Drago ordered. "Magmortar, finish that reject of a Monferno with Flamethrower!"

"I don't think so!" Chili declared. "Pignite! Darmanitan! Attack Heatmore with Psychic and Stone Edge! Monferno, dodge and use Fire Punch on Magmortar!"

Before Heatmor could lay a claw on Chili's fire primate, Darmanitan lifted the anteater into the air with his mind. Pignite shot Heatmor with another barrage of sharp stones before Darmanitan slammed the anteater hard into the ground and knocking it out. Meanwhile, Monferno managed to sidestep a blast of flames that Magmortar fired from its right cannon arm and then hit the magma creature in the jaw with a flaming fist.

"No! This can't be!" Drago protested. "My Pokemon are the products of perfection!"

"Not perfect enough!" Chili told him. "Darmanitan, finish Magmortar with Focus Blast!"

Before Magmortar could recover fully from Monferno's last punch, Darmanitan formed a large ball of bluish-green light on his forehead and shot it at the magma creature. After the impact Magmortar fell to the ground face first and was unconscious. Disgusted, Drago called back all three of his Pokemon.

"You guys did real great out their. Get some rest." Chili told his three Pokemon before calling them back to their balls.

"How can this be? My perfect Pokemon defeated by a mongrel and a pair of rejects!" Drago protested.

"It seems you still do not understand." Brycen told Drago aske stepped forward.

"Brycen." A star-struck Chili observed.

"You did very well today in that battle." Brycen praised. "I'll take it from here."

"Okay. Thanks." Chili replied before going over to Ash and Misty.

"What, so some washed-up movie star is going to try and teach me a lesson now?" Drago scoffed.

"Brycen's a movie star?" a surprised Misty asked.

"Of course." Chili confirmed. "Didn't you guys know that?"

"If you truly think I am so weak, than why not prove it by battling me?" Brycen calmly dared.

"Okay, I do have one other Pokemon I can use." Drago agreed. "He's not quite as strong as Ivan, but he's a close second. Go Charizard!"

Emerging from Drago's thrown ball was a large orange dragon-like creature with a yellow stomach and underside. The Pokemon had a large pair of wings that were bluish-green on the inside, and on the tip of his tail burned a red flame.

"Go Beartic!" Brycen called as he threw out his own Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was what looked like a polar bear with a beard made out of icicles. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out more.

"Beartic, the Freezing Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Beartic are able to freeze their breath to form fangs and claws. They prefer the ice-cold waters of the northern seas."

"You're challenging my Charizard with an Ice-type?" Drago laughed. "This should be quick then. Use Flamethrower Charizard!"

"Dodge and use Stone Edge!" Brycen ordered.

Charizard blasted a stream of flames at Beartic, but the arctic Pokemon quickly dodged the attack. Two rings of sharp stones formed around Beartic and were shot at the fire lizard, causing Charizard to cry out.

"Now use Aqua Jet!" Brycen commanded.

Beartic got on its stomach and slide on the ground towards Charizard as its body became shrouded in water. The bear rammed hard into Charizard, knocking it onto its side unconscious. Drago was completely stunned.

"You were right. That was quick." Brycen remarked as he called Beartic back to its ball.

"How can this be?" Drago demanded to know.

"It is not breeding or any special combination of status enhancers that make a strong Pokemon. It's the bond a Pokemon has with its trainer." Brycen told him. "You have no true bond with any of your Pokemon because you only see them as fighting machines. That is why you lost today."

"This isn't over." Drago declared with a scowl before calling back Charizard and storming off. The people that had gathered to watch the battle began to disperse.

"Thanks for the help Brycen." Ash told him as he walked up with Misty and Chili.

"Not at all." Brycen replied. "Ash, am I correct in assuming that you're traveling to collect gym badges?"

"That's right." Ash confirmed.

"Then we will soon be seeing each other again. For I am the leader of the Icirrus City Gym." Brycen revealed. "But for now this is goodbye. Take care."

With that, Brycen calmly walked off. Chili stared in awe as the masked man walked away.

"Wow. Just when I thought Brycen couldn't get any cooler." Chili commented.

"He's really a movie star?" Misty asked.

"Well actually, he stopped acting a few years ago for some reason. But he's done a few films." Chili revealed. "My brothers and I are all really big fans of his work. Come to think of it I have a poster from his last movie in my bag."

"Mind showing it to us?" Ash requested.

"No problem." Chili replied as he began to root through his bag for the poster. "You know now that I think of it, there was a Lucario in that movie. Now where… ah! Here it is."

Chili pulled out the compressed paper that was the poster and unfolded it. Ash and Misty looked at it and saw that it was indeed a poster for a movie called _Iron Winter_. But what shocked them along with Pikachu and Lucario was the human actor featured next to Brycen and his Beartic. He was a man with black hair wearing a black sleeveless karate outfit with a blue belt. Standing next to him was a Lucario.

"What is it guys?" Chili asked upon noticing Ash and Misty's reactions.

"That guy on the poster with Brycen," Ash replied, "…is Riley."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I am never writing a triple battle again. Well, I may do one in a future story. But certainly not again in this one. Anyway, the former trainer of Chili's Tepig ended up being a different character from the former trainer of Ash's Tepig in the anime. I kinda decided that since Chili's Tepig had a different personality from the one in the anime the trainer should be a different character all together. The last name of this chapter's villain was taken from the Soviet boxer that served as the antagonist in _Rocky IV_. Also, the nickname of Drago's shiny Emboar was also taken from the aforementioned boxer. The rest of the _Rocky_ references are in the dialogue.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	38. The Fist of Brycen

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 37: The Fist of Brycen

It had been eleven days since Ash and his companions had left Ember Town. In that time, Ash had begun vigorous training in order to prepare for his coming gym battle with Brycen. Ash was somewhat nervous about battling Brycen, more so than any other gym battle. The reason of course was because Brycen had stared in a movie along side Riley, that and the fact that Brycen also seemed to be a very formidable trainer. The group was due to arrive in Icirrus City the next day, and that night Ash stayed up with Pikachu and Lucario long after Misty and Chili had gone to sleep.

_"It's not like you to be so nervous about a gym battle."_ A familiar voice suddenly spoke. Ash and his Pokemon companions turned around to see the spirits of Riley and his Lucario walking towards them.

"I thought you could only appear like this at the Celestial Tower." A surprised Ash told him.

_"What gave you that idea?"_ Riley asked.

"I… don't know." Ash admitted.

_"So, what is it that's making you so nervous about facing Brycen?"_ Riley asked, returning to the original subject of the conversation.

"I guess it's mostly because I've been wondering how you knew Brycen." Ash answered. "You never told that you were in a movie once."

_"That's because it was sort of a cheesy movie."_ Riley chuckled. _"But you might as well hear the story now. It all started when a production company from Unova came to Iron Island to film a movie. I was there training with my Lucario at the time and we ran into Brycen and his Beartic. We ended up hitting it off. As you already saw in Ember Town, Brycen isn't just a movie star. He's a very powerful trainer as well."_

"How'd you end up in the movie?" Ash inquired.

_"Brycen's co-star at the time ended up coming down with the flu and couldn't perform."_ Riley explained. _"It almost shut down the whole production. But then Brycen suggested that Lucario and I take his co-star's place. The movie was saved, but I found out while doing it that I didn't have a future as an actor. I had a lot of trouble remembering my lines. Fortunately the movie was mostly action scenes."_

"Chili mentioned that movie was the last one Brycen ever did." Ash recalled. "Did Brycen decide to quit acting after that movie?"

_"Not exactly."_ Riley answered as his expression became grave. _"Despite my bad acting and the hooky plot, the movie seemed to do very well. So well in fact, that the producers decided to do a sequel. It was going to be called Iron Winter 2: Fists of Ice. And Brycen had convinced me to star in it with him. But… five days into shooting there was an accident. A complicated stunt Brycen was trying to do went wrong and ended up hurting one of the other actors. That actor didn't die, but he ended up paralyzed from the waist down. And even though it was just an accident, Brycen felt responsible and decided to quit acting and become a fulltime Pokemon Trainer."_

"And he eventually became the gym leader he is now." Ash assumed.

_"One of my reasons for coming to Unova actually was to see Brycen again."_ Riley admitted. _"He never returned to Sinnoh after the accident. But then, I'm not really here to talk about the end of Brycen's film career, am I Ash?"_

"I guess not." Ash admitted. "You said that Brycen was a strong trainer. Was he as strong as you?"

_"I suppose we were evenly matched."_ Riley answered thoughtfully. _"But then I'm not you Ash. Don't worry about how well I did in battle against Brycen or what I might've done and just focus on fighting him like you would any other opponent. Because in the end, all you can be is yourself."_

"Okay, I got it. Thanks Riley." Ash gratefully replied.

_"Good luck in your battle, Ash."_ Riley told him before vanishing with Ghost Lucario.

* * *

Ash and his friends arrived at the gym to find the inside completely dark and cold. But as soon as the door shut behind them, a spotlight turned on to reveal Brycen standing atop an icy rock.

"I've been expecting you Ash." Brycen greeted with a smile. "I trust you're ready for our battle."

"You know I am." Ash confirmed.

"Then let us begin." Brycen decided.

The lights in the gym came on completely to reveal a battlefield covered in ice. Ash and Brycen took their positions on the field as the referee came out.

"I hope Ash really is ready for this battle. He hasn't been getting much sleep the last few nights." A worried Misty noted.

"He's fine. Look how focused he is." Chili assured her, pointing out the determined expression on Ash's face.

"This match will be a three-on-three battle!" the referee announced. "Only the challenger is allowed to switch Pokemon during the battle! Begin!"

"Go Vanillish!" Brycen called out as he threw his first Pokeball.

The creature that emerged from the ball was a clump of living snow that had a face and resembled a swirl of ice cream. Next to its mouth on each side were two small ice crystals that served as stubby arms. Jutting out from under the creature was a long jagged icicle that made it look even more like an ice cream cone.

"Go Larvesta!" Ash called as he threw out his own ball. The fire larva burst out of her ball to face the hovering snow creature. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Reflect!" Brycen commanded.

From her top horn Larvesta blasted Vanillish with a stream of flames. But at the last second the floating snow cone raised a transparent wall in front of itself that deflected some of the flames.

"Use Signal Beam!" Ash commanded.

The fire larva shot two beams of light from her eyes, one green and one red. The beams swirled around each other as the hit Vanillish in the face. When the attack ended, Vanillish floated around in a dizzy state.

"Looks like Larvesta's Signal Beam confused Vanillish." Chili observed.

"Use Icicle Spear!" Brycen commanded.

"Dodge and bring Vanillish to the ground with String Shot!" Ash ordered.

Still in a disoriented state, Vanillish aimed its icicle down at Larvesta and began to fire a barrage of shards at the fire larva. But Larvesta easily skittered out of the way of each shot and spat a silk thread up at the snow cone Pokemon. With one jerk of her head, Larvesta pulled Vanillish down to the ground.

"Now use Flame Charge!" Ash commanded.

Larvesta took off at the fallen Vanillish like a missile as her body became shrouded in flames. The fire larva rammed hard into Vanillish, knocking it into the air. When the snow cone Pokemon crashed back to the ground it was out cold.

"Vanillish is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the first round goes to Ash and Larvesta!"

"Very good." Brycen commented as he called back the fallen Vanillish. "But let us see how well your Larvesta does against this Pokemon. Go Cryogonal!"

Emerging into the air from Brycen's second ball was a light blue crystalline creature that resembled a cross between a snowflake and a mask with an angry-looking face. Its eyes glowed blue and in its mouth was a sort of blue glowing chain. As soon as Cryogonal appeared on the battlefield, Larvesta suddenly glowed red and became covered in an egg-shaped ball of flames that floated up off the ground.

"What's going on?" Ash wondered.

"Ash! I think Larvesta is evolving!" Chili called on the sidelines. "Remember? Your Pokedex said that Larvesta evolves using a fire cocoon!"

"Oh yeah." Ash recalled. "Looks like this battle just got a lot more interesting."

"You know, that cocoon actually is pretty." Misty admitted.

"That's unexpected from someone who doesn't like Bug Pokemon." Chili remarked.

"Well, there are some bugs I don't mind like Butterfree." Misty admitted. "Hey, maybe Larvesta will become a Pokemon like that."

The cocoon burned on the battlefield like the sun before bursting apart to reveal an insect that resembled a sort of plum moth that was just a little over five feet tall. She had six leaf-like wings that were orange and speckled with tiny black spots. Her torso was covered in smoky white fuzz and had four tiny stubby legs. The moth's abdomen was bluish-white with black spots and a thick strip of black in the middle. Her black head, which had a pair of blue compound eyes, was framed by a pair of red horns that made the head look almost like an Egyptian sun disk. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out more about the fire moth.

"Volcarona, the Sun Pokemon, and the evolved form of Larvesta." The Pokedex identified. "Legends say that this Pokemon is the embodiment of the sun itself, and that its fire replaced the sun in ancient times when the sky was darkened by volcanic Ash."

"Wow! A real live Volcorona!" Chili said excitedly. "Isn't it cool Misty?"

"It's… so big." Misty replied with a cringe as her face turned a bit blue.

Before Ash could issue another command, Volcarona began to flap her wings and weave around gracefully in the air. When she finished moving, her body glowed briefly with a multicolored light.

"What was that?" Ash wondered.

"That was Quiver Dance." Brycen explained. "It's a move that boosts the user's power and speed. Now Cryogonal, attack with Rapid Spin!"

"Attack with Flamethrower!" Ash commanded.

Before Cryogonal could move, Volcorona blasted the snowflake mask with a blast of flames shot from her forehead. When the attack was over, Cryogonal fell to the ground unconscious.

"Cryogonal is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the second round goes to Ash and Volcorona!"

"Very impressive." Brycen praised as he called back Cryogonal. "I expected nothing less from one who was trained by Riley."

"How'd you know?" a surprised Ash asked.

"Little things, like the way you carry yourself." Brycen answered. "It seems that Riley has taught you well. Which means I shouldn't hold back any longer. Go Beartic!"

The polar bear Pokemon burst forth from Brycen's third ball with a roar.

"Use Flamethrower once more!" Ash commanded.

The fire moth shot another stream of flames at Beartic from her forehead. The polar bear Pokemon raised his arms to block the attack. Beartic withstood the attack and gave another loud roar when it was over.

"Beartic's still standing after taking a Flamethrower head on?" a surprised Misty exclaimed.

"Remember Misty. This is Brycen that Ash is up against." Chili pointed out. "And he's up against Brycen's strongest Pokemon too."

"Now Beartic, use Stone Edge!" Brycen commanded.

Two rings of sharpened stones appeared around Beartic and orbited him before launching off at Volcorona. The stone barrage hit the fire moth in the midsection and wings.

"Hang in there, Volcorona!" Ash called. "Use Signal Beam!"

"Strike with Aqua Jet!" Brycen commanded.

Before Volcorona could fire another attack, a water-shrouded Beartic slid on the ground at top speed and rammed into the fire moth. Volcorona fell to the ground unconscious.

"Volcorona is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the third round goes to Brycen and Beartic."

"Do not feel bad about this loss, Ash." Brycen told him. "Your Volcorona has only just evolved. With more time and training she will reach her full power."

"Thanks." Ash replied as he called Volcorona back to her ball. "But for now it looks like I should stop holding back too. Get in there, Lucario!"

Lucario nodded, calmly walked onto the battlefield, and took a fighting stance before Beartic. Beartic narrowed his eyes at Lucario and took a fighting stance of his own.

"So it has come to this, eh?" Brycen commented with a small smirk. "Okay Beartic, use Icicle Crash!"

"Dodge and use Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered.

Beartic breathed out an icy mist that formed into several small icicles that flew at Lucario. The icy projectiles grew in size and became gigantic before falling to the ground. Lucario weaved and dodged the sharp slabs of ice as the fell and leapt into the air before throwing a ball of blue light at Beartic. The polar bear Pokemon was hit in the chest but withstood the attack.

"Use Ice Punch!" Ash and Brycen commanded at the same time.

The two Pokemon warriors charged at one another with raised fists covered in icy mist. Both fists collided with each other with a loud bang and in seconds a ten-foot wall of ice formed by both attacks divided the battlefield. Brycen and Beartic became obscured from Ash and Lucario's eyes.

"Amazing. What fiery intensity they both have." Chili observed with awe. "Yet what calm cool focus."

Meanwhile, both Ash and Lucario closed their eyes and took a breath. In his mind, Ash could see exactly where Brycen and Lucario were on the other side of the wall.

"Strike now with Aqua Jet!" Brycen commanded.

"Dodge and use Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered.

Lucario's eyes shot open and he jumped out of the way a split second before a water-covered Beartic burst through the wall. Twisting in midair, Lucario threw another ball of blue light that hit Beartic in the back and caused the polar bear to stop.

"Now use Bullet Punch!" Ash ordered.

Just as Beartic had gotten back to his feet, Lucario dashed up and hit him in the snout with a hard glowing white punch. Beartic staggered backward a few steps before falling forward unconscious.

"Beartic is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory of the match goes to Ash and Lucario!"

"That was a superb battle Ash." Brycen told him as he walked out from behind the wall of ice. Beartic regained consciousness and got up to join Brycen. "In my eyes, you are truly a worthy successor to Riley's legacy."

"Thanks, that means a lot." Ash replied as Lucario walked over to his side.

"As proof of your victory, I bestow upon you the Freeze Badge." Brycen said as he handed the badge to Ash.

"Thank you." Ash told him as he took the badge and put it in his case. "It was an honor to battle you Brycen."

"The honor was mine." Brycen replied as he and Ash shook hands. At the same time, Lucario and Beartic bumped fists.

"Well, now I guess you only have one badge left to get." Chili pointed out as he and Misty walked up.

"So where do we find the next gym?" Ash wondered.

"The closest one should be in Opelucid City." Chili answered as he consulted his map. "It shouldn't take us long to get there."

"I'm afraid that a battle at the Opelucid City Gym is impossible at the moment." Brycen revealed. "The leader of the gym, Drayden, is in the hospital."

"Is he sick?" Misty inquired.

"Not exactly." Brycen replied. "The story is that Drayden's apprentice was training her Axew and accidentally blew up half of the gym. Unfortunately it was the half that Drayden was in at the time. He'll be fine, but he's going to be immobilized in a body cast for the next few months."

"So now what?" Misty wondered.

"I have heard talk of another gym far away in Virbank City." Brycen informed them. "They say that the leader of that gym is quite powerful."

"Virbank City?" Chili repeated in disbelief as he checked the map. "That's a long way away. We'd have to do a lot of backtracking to get there."

"There is a shortcut through the underground pass in Twist Mountain you could take." Brycen suggested. "Through there, the journey would only take you a few weeks."

"Then I guess Virbank City is our best bet." Ash decided. "Again Brycen, it was an honor to meet you."

"Indeed. May our paths cross again Ash." Brycen replied.

* * *

After visiting the Pokemon Center to tend to Lucario and Volcorona, Ash and his friends immediately headed for the Twist Mountain pass that Brycen told them about. Chili took point while Ash and Misty walked behind.

"That was pretty awesome battling someone who knew Riley." Ash declared.

"You seemed a little nervous about it in the beginning though." Misty noted.

"Well, I was a little intimidated facing someone who was probably as strong as Riley." Ash admitted. "But I got some advice the night before the battle that told me not to worry about that and just treat it as another gym battle."

"Who gave you that advice?" Misty asked.

"I'll tell you about it one day." Ash assured her as he took her hand. "Anyway, now I only have one badge to go before the Unova League. All we gotta do is just go through that pass Brycen told us about."

"Before that Ash, could you do me one small favor?" Misty requested.

"Sure, what?" Ash replied.

"Could you please put Volcorona back in her ball now?" Misty begged as she pointed her thumb at the giant fire moth that was flying a little too closely behind her.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Some of you reading may have noticed that I slammed Iris a little at the end there. Anyway, I may've mentioned this before, but it is kind of hard sometimes to make these gym battles interesting. In this case though I decided to have a connection between Riley and Brycen to make things a little more personal for Ash.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	39. Fossil Fighters

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 38: Fossil Fighters

Misty slowly awoke to find a black insect-like face with blue compound eyes only inches away from her own. She screamed bloody murder and shot up in her sleeping bag, causing Volcorona to back away a little. Misty's cry echoed through the dark stone tunnel that was lit only by the strings of electric lanterns mounted high on the walls. Ash, Pikachu, Lucario, and Chili quickly awoke to the disturbance. Upon seeing that it was only Volcorona hovering over Misty he sighed heavily.

"Damn it Volcorona! How many times have I told you not to do that?" Ash scolded. Volcorona merely tilted her head at Ash.

"Oh wow! A real live Volcorona!" a familiar voice excitedly cut in.

Ash and the others looked and saw a familiar-looking girl with light-brown hair in a braided ponytail and pale-green eyes. After a moment they all recognized the girl as Sandy Parks, the young enthusiast of ancient Pokemon they met when Ash received Tirtogua.

"Oh, hey Sandy." Ash greeted. "It's been awhile."

"It sure has." Sandy agreed before turning to Misty. "So Misty, is this your Volcorona?"

"Hardly." Misty replied with a look of disgust as she got out of her sleeping bag.

"I'm Volcorona's trainer." Ash explained as he walked up.

"Wow, you really have quite a collection of ancient Pokemon." Sandy commented. "First Golett and Tirtogua, and now a Volcorona."

"Actually, Golett evolved into Golurk when I was in Nimbasa City." Ash revealed as he called Volcorona back to her Pokeball. "I don't have it with me right now though."

"Aw, too bad." Sandy replied with a disappointed expression. "I would've loved to see an actual Golurk up close. So anyway, what brings you and your friends through the Twist Mountain Pass?"

"We're actually on our way to Virbank City." Ash explained. "We've been walking through this tunnel for about two weeks now."

"What brings you through here Sandy?" Chili inquired. "Here hoping to find more fossils?"

"Actually, I'm here to compete." Sandy revealed.

"Compete in what?" Misty asked.

"In the annual Twist Mountain Fossil Rally." A voice cut in.

Approaching the group was a rather muscular man with dark-brown hair, green eyes, and chin covered in stubble. He had on a short-sleeved tan jacket over a dirty white muscle shirt and long dark-brown pants with black boots covered in dirt. Tied around his neck was a tattered red bandanna, and on his back was a large green pack similar to Sandy's.

"Ash, Misty, Chili, I'd like you to meet my uncle, Dirk Sandstone." Sandy introduced.

"_The_ Dirk Sandstone?" Chili asked in awe. "The famous archeologist and adventurer?"

"The one and only, kid." Dirk confirmed. "So you must be the group my sister's kid met in Fort Stone. Nice to meet you all."

"Same here. So what's this Fossil Rally you mentioned?" Ash asked.

"This pass also leads into a mine owned by the guy who runs the Driftveil City Gym." Dirk began. "When the mine first opened up, they miners uncovered a lot of Pokemon fossils. Many of the fossils were passed out to museums around the world, but a lot of them were also taken by the miners and revived. The miners started battling using these Pokemon during their breaks. It wasn't long before Clay got word of this and decided to hold a tournament every year in the mine that only allowed Pokemon revived from fossils."

"The tournament's not just for the miners though." Sandy added. "Anyone with a Fossil Pokemon is allowed to compete. Uncle Dirk has won every Fossil Rally for five years straight. And this year I'll be competing in the tournament too."

"Maybe I should enter with Tritouga." Ash suggested. "I mean it's not like we're in a hurry to get to Virbank City."

"You'd be up against some pretty stiff competition kid." Dirk warned. "You might even end up fighting me."

"That's even more reason for me to compete." Ash replied with a smirk.

"Okay then. Just follow me and Sandy." Dirk told him.

Within about six minutes Sandy and Dirk led the group down another tunnel that led to a wide cave with two lines filled with people who worked inside the mine. Many were men with muscular arms that looked as though they had worked in the mines for many years.

"Looks like we're just in time to register." Dirk observed. "Now this tournament is divided into two groups, the A Group and the B Group. There's no difference between the two, but the best trainers from both groups face off against one another in the final round. I'll go ahead and register in Group A. You kids take Group B. We wouldn't want one of you to end up facing me in round one, now would we?"

"I guess we'll see you later then Uncle Dirk." Sandy agreed.

"Good luck to both of you." Dirk told them before getting in line.

* * *

It was not long before Ash and Sandy were entered into the tournament along with Dirk. The match-ups for the battles were random and each battle took place in a different intersection of the mine. The battles were all one-on-one, and Ash and Tirtogua fought against four other competitors with Misty and Chili watching, defeating opponents who used Pokemon like Kabutops and Rampardos. At last the semi-final round had come and Ash found himself up against Sandy.

"Well Ash, looks like you and I are going to have a rematch." Sandy observed as she and Ash took their positions.

"Guess so." Ash agreed.

"This match will be a one-on-one battle!" the referee announced. "Begin!"

"Go Tirtouga!" Ash called as he threw out a Pokeball. The ancient turtle Pokemon emerged onto the field.

"This isn't going to turn out the same as our last battle." Sandy declared as she threw her own ball. "Go Archeops!"

Flying out of the ball was an almost bird-like creature that was over four feet tall and had primarily yellow plumage. Its head was like that of a lizard and was primarily red and green on top. The creature also had a red lizard-like tail with long blue feathers on the end. The wings on its arms were rimmed with blue feathers and it seemed to have smaller blue wings on its legs. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out just what it was he was looking at.

"Archeops, the First Bird Pokemon, and the evolved form of Archen." The Pokedex identified. "Archeops is able to run at speeds of twenty-five miles per hour, making it able to take off into the air. The Pokemon will often work in groups to catch prey."

"I get it. The Archen you got when we met at Fort Stone must've evolved." Ash deduced.

"That's right." Sandy confidently confirmed. "Okay Archeops, attack Tirtogua with Stone Edge!"

"Use Aqua Jet!" Ash commanded.

Archeops squawked and in a flash of white light two rings of sharp stones appeared and orbited around the proto bird's body. At the same time, Tirtogua retracted his head and legs into his shell and took off like a missile after becoming shrouded in water. With a flap of the wings on its arms Archeops launched the stone projectiles at Tirtogua, but they simply bounced off the surface of the water covering the ancient turtle. Tirtogua then rammed hard into Archeop's chest.

"Don't give up Archeops!" Sandy called. "Use Earthquake!"

After getting back on its feet, Archeops squawked and flapped its wings as it dug the claws on its feet into the ground. Suddenly the ground beneath began to shake, knocking Tirtogua onto his back. The attack ended after a moment.

"This isn't good." Chili declared on the sidelines. "Tirtogua's also a Rock-type, which means he probably took a lot of damage from that last attack."

"Looks like this battle's just about wrapped up." Sandy confidently declared.

Suddenly Tirtogua cried out and began to glow with a white light before changing in shape and size. The light cleared and the ancient turtle Pokemon was standing upright at about four feet tall. His rear flippers as become legs, each with a foot that had two black toes. His from pair of flippers meanwhile had become long almost paddle-like arms, each with three black stone claws. A sort of black stone mask covered the turtle's face. Ash got out his Pokedex again for a closer look.

"Carracosta, the Prototurtle Pokemon, and the evolved form of Tirtogua." The Pokedex identified. "This Pokemon is able to live both in water and on land. Its powerful jaws are strong enough to crush rock, bone, and even steel."

"Looks like this battle's not over yet." Ash observed.

"Hah! Your Pokemon may have evolved, but he's also already taken a whole lot of damage." Sandy pointed out. "Archeops, attack with Acrobatics!"

"Rock Polish and Brine!" Ash commanded.

Just as Archeops began running at Carracosta, the turtle Pokemon briefly shined with a white light and in seconds his shell and mask became smoother. Then when Archeops was about to take off into the air, Carracosta blasted it with a thick stream of salty water from his mouth. The blast of water knocked Archeops out cold.

"Archeops is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Carracosta!"

"Darn." A disappointed Sandy declared as she called back Archeops. "And here I thought I was going to win and face Uncle Dirk."

"Hey, you made it to the semifinal round at least." Ash encouragingly pointed out as he called back Carracosta. "And you did have me on the ropes there for a minute."

"True." Sandy admitted. "You know, if we hurry we might be able to catch Uncle Dirk's semifinal battle. C'mon!"

Ash and the others quickly followed Sandy to the section of the mine where she had heard Dirk was to have his battle. They soon came to a wide cavern with a large shaft above that showed the sky. Dirk was already waiting in on the battlefield.

"Looks like were just in time." Sandy observed.

"You know anything about your uncle's opponent?" Chili asked.

"Nope, not a thing." Sandy replied. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see who it is."

As if on cue, Dirk's opponent emerged from a dark tunnel at the other end of the makeshift arena. The person was a young woman with tan skin and reddish-brown hair that was short in back. Everyone except for Sandy recognized the young woman immediately.

"Skyla?" a surprised Ash, Misty, and Chili all said together.

"Wait, you know the girl about to face Uncle Dirk?" Sandy asked.

"She's the leader of the Mistralton City Gym." Misty explained.

"Mistralton City? But I heard the gym there closed down." Sandy revealed.

"What? Are you serious?" a shocked Chili asked.

"Yeah. The rumor is that it closed because the gym leader went on some kind of training journey." Sandy explained.

"Looks like it might've paid off." Ash observed as he narrowed his eyes. "Look how different she is from before."

Skyla's appearance had indeed changed from the last time they had seen her. The propeller-shaped ornament that once decorated her hair was gone, causing a lock of her hair to obscure her right eye. The rest of her outfit consisted of a dirty white tank top that revealed her midriff and showed off a set of toned abs, along with a pair of dirty and dust-covered baggy grey jeans and dirty black boots. Her arms had become a just little more muscular, as if from hard physical labor. White tape was wrapped around her hands and a black stripe of grease was under her visible eye, magnifying her already intense expression.

"You seem pretty determined to win. But I'm afraid your luck's just out." Dirk declared to Skyla with a confident expression. Skyl said nothing to Dirk.

"This will be a one-on-one Pokemon match!" The referee declared. "Begin!"

"Let's go Armaldo!" Dirk called as he threw out a ball.

The creature that emerged from the ball stood at about five feet and looked like a cross between a dinosaur and a shrimp. It was primarily bluish-grey in color and on its back was a pair of insect-like stone wings that were black on the underside and had yellow trim. At the end of its long tail was a pair of black fin-like blades. Its mantis-like arms extended from the front of its yellow chest. Each side of the creature's neck had three white feather-like fins with red tips. Its eyes were on the sides of its head and on top was a back patch with two red spots.

"Take off, my Brutal Stone Predator… Aerodactyl!" Skyla called out as she threw out her own Pokeball.

Flying out of the Pokeball was a large wyvern-like Pokemon with stone-grey skin and great wings that were purple on the inside. It had a large jaw and its mouth was filled with sharp fangs. Ash's eyes went wide and his skin went a bit pale upon seeing Aerodactyl. He did not have pleasant memories concerning this Pokemon. Misty quickly noticed Ash's reaction and took his hand tightly in her own.

"No way…. Aerodactyl, the king of all prehistoric Pokemon." Sandy spoke with awe. "This is the biggest one I've ever seen."

"Okay Armaldo, attack with Rock Blast!" Dirk commanded.

"Sky Drop." Skyla ordered.

Before Armaldo could make a move, Aerodactyl swooped in and grabbed the shrimp creature with its powerful talons and flew up though the hole in the cave ceiling. Upon reaching the sky, the wyvern hurled Armaldo down through the hole. Armaldo crashed into the ground with such force that the impact raised a huge cloud of dust. When the dust finally settled, Armaldo was just barely standing up in the middle of a large crater that was not there before.

"Now! Iron Tail!" Skyla commanded.

Aerodactyl flew back down through the hole at top speed as its tail glowed white and became like metal. With one swift swing the wyvern brought its tail down hard on top of Armaldo's head. Arnmaldo fell face-first to the ground and was out cold.

"Armaldo is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Skyla and Aerodactyl!"

"So fast…" a shocked Chili spoke. "It beat Armaldo in just two moves."

"How are Ash and Carracosta supposed to beat that?" Misty wondered.

As Ash began to wonder the same thing, Skyla glanced and noticed him from across the chamber. The deposed Flying-type gym leader glared at Ash with anger-filled eyes as Aerodactyl landed next to her. It was then that Ash began to wonder if by beating Skyla those two times he had accidentally created a monster.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Originally the only purpose for having this chapter was for evolving Ash's Tirtogua. But that alone seemed kinda thin, and I had actually thought about cutting it. But then after thinking about for awhile I saw it as an opportunity to do more stuff with Skyla's character. I said she would be back, didn't I?

Please review and let me know what you think.


	40. Own Worst Enemy

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 39: Own Worst Enemy

Ash and his companions were still a little in shock after seeing that Skyla was in the Fossil Rally tournament. Not to mention the sheer power of her Aerodactyl. With the final battle of the semifinals over, Dirk called back his fallen Armaldo and walked over to Ash and the others. Skyla called back Aerodactyl and did the same. Needless to say, there was much tension in the air with the unexpected reunion.

"Ash Ketchum, I never thought I'd run into you again." Skyla told him, breaking the silence that was hanging over the cave. "Bet you never thought that a joke like me would make it to the final round of a tournament like this, did you?"

"What are you even doing here Skyla?" Misty asked.

"Those clothes. You're one of the miners, aren't you?" Dirk realized.

"All part of my training." Skyla answered. "I started working here about four days after leaving my gym. And while I was working I found a piece of Old Amber and had it revived into my Aerodactyl. Then I learned of this tournament and decided to enter. Once I win, I'll show everyone that I'm no longer a joke."

"Well you'll have to get past Ash first." Chili told her.

"Wait, you're in this tournament too Ash?" Skyla asked with a look of surprise. "Hah! Well then, what better way to prove just how strong I am then by beating you? You don't stand a chance against me and Aerodactyl."

Suddenly bursting out of a Pokeball at Skyla's waist was a small blue creature that was almost like a dinosaur. It stood on two legs and the top of its head was a crest made up of three thick grey ridges, the middle of which extended down its neck. The creature lacked any sort of tail and its arms were very stubby. It had a yellow jaw with two fangs protruding from the sides and a triangular yellow patch on its underside. The creature growled at both Pikachu and Lucario.

"A Bagon?" Misty observed.

"Oh yeah. I made a quick stop over in the Village of Dragons before coming here and ended up with an egg that hatched into my little friend here." Skyla explained. "Anyway Ketchum, I'm going to pay you back big for what happened back in Mistralton City. Let's go Bagon."

Bagon growled at Pikachu and Lucario again before quickly following after its trainer as Skyla walked off.

"Hey, we should get to the Pokemon Center here in the mine." Dirk suggested. "After all the battles in this tournament our Pokemon could use some rest. I know Armaldo certainly could."

A few minutes later Ash and the others had reached the small Pokemon Center-like facility that had been built into the mine to treat the Pokemon that worked there. Once Ash, Sandy, and Dirk's Pokemon were tended to, the group went to take a break in the waiting area.

"So that girl was a gym leader, huh?" Dirk said after hearing from Ash and the others about some of what had happened in Mistralton City. "Well, I can sure believe that after the beating Armaldo took from the Aerodactyl."

"The thing is though that Skyla's different from before." Chili pointed out. "She wasn't much of a gym leader when we met her. And now…"

"I wonder why Skyla decided to work in a mine to do her training." Misty asked.

"Not by choice, I can tell you that." A voice interrupted.

Ash and the others looked and saw that the person who spoke was an old man who stood at about five feet tall and had a grey mustache. He had on a hardhat with a light on the front and wore a dirty white muscle shirt that showed his slim yet muscular arms and baggy grey pants. In his right hand was a pickaxe that he had slung over his shoulder.

"Who're you?" Chili asked.

"That name's Pete Ridge." The old miner answered as he walked over. "And I couldn't help but overhear all of you talk about Skyla. The fact is that training isn't exactly the reason why she's here workin' the mine. When she first got here she was flying her plane over Twist Mountain and crashed. No one was hurt, but the plane crashed into Mr. Clay's jeep."

"So Clay's been making Skyla work in the mine to pay for the jeep?" Misty deduced.

"Yep. She's actually pretty good at the work too." Pete confirmed. "That Bagon of hers has been a pretty big help with it Rock Smash and Hydro Pump attacks. In her off hours though, Skyla's been challenging all the other workers have battles with her. Seems to be a bit of anger in the way she fights. Then she dug up that Old Amber fossil and everything changed a little. Skyla learned about the Fossil Rally and learned that it had a huge cash prize. Enough to pay off what she owes Mr. Clay."

"That must make her all the more determined to win then." Dirk realized.

"That and it seems like she's trying to prove something." Pete added. "Well, I best be going. I don't know which one of you is going to be up against Skyla in the final round of the Rally. But it looks like your luck's just run out."

* * *

Ash sat on a large rock in a small dead end tunnel alone with Pikachu and Lucario. Misty walked in to find him deep in thought.

"Hey." Misty spoke, shaking Ash from his thoughts. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Ash assured her.

"You're worried about the battle tomorrow, aren't you?" Misty deduced as she sat down next to him on the rock. "Is it because of Skyla's Aerodactyl?"

"Partly." Ash answered. "You know I'd probably be dead if Charizard hadn't saved me from that wild Aerodactyl back in Kanto. But I think what's really bothering me is that this whole thing with Skyla's probably my fault."

"Ash, you did the right thing beating her in like that in your gym battle." Misty assured him as she put her hand over his. "Sure, maybe using Ho-Oh might've been overkill. But she needed to learn that her way of doing gym battles was wrong."

"I guess." Ash replied, though he still sounded unsure.

"Why don't you come back to the Pokemon Center? Chili's almost got dinner ready." Misty informed him.

"I'll be back in a bit. I just need a little more time to think." Ash assured her.

"Okay." Misty replied before planting a kiss on his cheek and leaving.

_"She's right you know."_ A familiar voice spoke, causing Ash and his two Pokemon to look and see the spirits of Riley and his Lucario. _"You shouldn't beat yourself up over what happened to Skyla."_

"Do you think I was going to far when I used Ho-Oh against her?" Ash asked.

_"Perhaps. But then I think things would've turned out the same way even if you didn't use Ho-Oh."_ Riley answered. _"From what I've seen, Skyla was just a little too prideful. And when a prideful trainer like that loses, they always take it very hard. Sometimes they don't even recover from defeat."_

"Skyla doesn't seem like she's recovering very well." Ash noted.

_"You know Ash, often the greatest enemy we have in life is ourselves."_ Riley replied. _"To me it seems that Skyla hates herself not just for losing to you, but because she sees herself as a failure as gym leader. Now she's punishing herself for it."_

"So what do I do then?" Ash asked.

_"The only thing to do is to battle her and try to prove to her that she's not as big a failure as she thinks."_ Riley answered. _"Just don't think for a moment that any of this is your fault."_

"Okay then…" Ash replied before getting back to his feet. "I guess I better figure out a way to beat Skyla's Aerodactyl."

_"Good luck Ash."_ Riley told him before vanishing with his Lucario.

* * *

The next day came, and at noon everyone gathered in the central junction of the mine. An arena had been set up for the battle, and just like where Skyla and Dirk fought the day before the ceiling had a large shaft in it that showed the sky above. Clay walked out onto the arena floor. He had come all the way from Driftveil City to preside over the final battle.

"Howdy y'all?" Clay greeted into his microphone. "Yew probably all know who I am. Fer those who don't I'm Clay, leader of the Drifveil Gym and owner of this here mine. But I reckon y'all didn't come all the way here to see me talk. So let's get on with this here battle. Will both parties please head on up here?"

Ash walked onto the arena floor with a calm expression on hi face. Pikachu and Lucario were at his side as usual. Skyla walked onto the other side of the stage with Bagon at her side. Skyla glared at Ash while the little dragon growled at Pikachu and Lucario.

"How is Ash going to take down Skyla's Aerodactyl?" Sandy wondered.

"Well, he pulled another all-nighter training last night. So I'm sure he's come up with something." Chili assured her.

"The Ketchum boy and Skyla? Dang. My horoscope said this was gonna be a weird day." Clay said to himself. "Alright then! This match'll be a one-on-one battle! Begin!"

"Go Carracosta!" Ash called as he threw out his Pokeball. The ancient turtle emerged onto the field.

"Take off, my Brutal Stone Predator, Aerodactyl!" Skyla called as she threw out her own ball. The prehistoric wyvern flew out of its ball with a roar. "Use Sky Drop!"

Aerodactyl flew at Carracosta and grabbed the ancient sea turtle with its talons before he could react. It flew up through the hole in the ceiling and then flung Carracosta back to the ground. The force of the prehistoric sea turtle's impact raised a huge cloud of dust and left a large crater. When the dust settled though, Carracosta was back on his feet.

"Seems like Caracosta wasn't hit by that attack as badly as Uncle Dirk's Armaldo." Sandy observed.

"Carracosta's a little more resistant to Aerodactyl's attacks because of his typing." Chili explained. "But that doesn't mean that he's completely safe."

"No, especially if one of Aerodactyl's attacks is what I think it might be." Dirk added.

"What attack is that?" Misty asked.

"Let's just wait and see." Dirk replied.

"Hit Carracosta with Iron Tail!" Skyla commanded.

"Use Aqua Jet!" Ash ordered.

Aerodactyl began to fly down towards Carracosta as its tail became like metal. But at the same time, Carracosta became shrouded in water and took off into the air the wyvern. Aerodactyl was hit in the chest and knocked off course. Both Pokemon landed back onto the battlefield.

"Well, you're not as reckless as before. But you're still pretty hard on yourself." Ash told Skyla.

"I need to be hard on myself in order to be better than I was." Skyla argued. "I failed as a gym leader and as a trainer. I cared more about flying planes than battling. It's actually kind of appropriate that I crashed and ended up working here. This is my punishment, and beating you now is the only way to end it."

"Skyla, you're a pretty good trainer." Ash tried to assure her. "You just got over confident and stopped taking battles seriously. But now it seems like you're being too serious."

"Shut up!" Skyla shouted. "You don't know anything about how I feel! Aerodactyl! Hit Carracota with Thunder Fang!"

Aerodactyl roared and opened its mouth to reveal that its fangs had begun to crackle with yellow electricity. Before Carracosta could move, Aerodactyl flew over and pit down hard on the turtle's left shoulder. Carracosta cried out in pain as a powerful electrical current surged through his body.

"This is what I was afraid of." Dirk told the others on the sidelines. "Aerodactyl is able to learn all three elemental fang attacks. Thunder Fang is the worst possible attack she could've used on Carracota."

After a few agonizing moments Aerodactyl released Carracosta and flew back over to Skyla's side. Carracosta was left badly injured and seemed to have trouble moving.

"Looks like Carracosta was left paralyzed Thunder Fang." A worried Chili observed.

"Now! Use Sky Drop!" Skyla commanded.

Aerodactyl swooped in again and carried Carracosta through the roof with its talons. Once up into the sky again, the wyvern hurled the ancient sea turtle back down to the ground with the same amount of force as before. Only this time when the dust cleared Carracosta was still on his back.

"Iron Tail!" Skyla ordered.

"Now Carracosta! Use Smack Down!" Ash commanded.

Aerodactyl began to fly at full speed towards Carracosta as its tail became metal once more. But in an instant, Carracosta's eyes snapped open. He opened his jaws and fired a ball of gold light up at Aerodactyl. The orb hit the wyvern in the wing and exploded, causing Aerodactyl to crash back down to the ground. The wyvern got back to its feet by had an injured wing.

"Oh no!" Skyla exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"I had Carracosta use Smack Down. It's an attack that knocks Flying Pokemon out of the sky." Ash explained. "It also makes Flying Pokemon vulnerable to Ground attacks. Carracosta, use Earth Power!"

The ancient sea turtle got back to his feet and cried out as he began to glow with a golden aura. Carracosta slammed his foot down on the ground, causing a stream of cracks to form and go towards Aerodactyl. In seconds a pillar of gold light erupted up from under the prehistoric wyvern and hurled it into the air.

"Finish it Carracosta!" Ash ordered. "Shell Smash and Aqua Jet!"

With Aerodactyl still in the air, Carracosta cried out again and suddenly his shell exploded to reveal a glowing white torso. The turtle became shrouded in water once more and shot into the falling wyvern with incredible force. Aerodactyl fell to the ground unconscious.

"Aerodactyl is unable to battle!" Clay declared. "Ash and Carracota win!"

The crowd cheered loudly as Ash called Carracosta back to his ball. Skyla called Aerodactyl back and fell to her knees.

"You're not going to be happy until you've completely humiliated me, are you?" Skyla pouted.

"Skyla, I haven't been trying to humiliate you." Ash told her. "That first battle I was just trying to show you that the way you handled gym battles was all wrong. Look Skyla, the fact is you're actually a really good trainer. It was almost seemed like you were going to beat me earlier. In fact now I really like I have earned the Jet Badge."

"You can say anything you want. It still doesn't change the fact that I lost." Skyla told him. "I didn't win the prize money, so my punishment isn't over yet."

"Hey Clay!" Ash called. "I'd like to use that prize money to pay off what Skyla still owes you."

"Huh?" Clay replied as he brought over an oversized check. "Yeah, okay. This should cover the rest of the damage she did to my gold-plated jeep."

"Gold-plated jeep?" a shocked Ash repeated. "What the hell do you need something like that for?"

"Hey! I like to look good while drivin' 'round town." Clay told him. "Anyway, consider it done. Oh, what do ya want done with the Dome Fossil yew also won?"

"…Give it to Misty." Ash answered after a moment.

"Gee, thanks Ash." Misty told him as she walked up.

"I don't need your pity." Skyla told Ash as she got back to her feet.

"It's not pity." Ash replied. "It's so you can get out of this mine and get stronger. You need to stop beating yourself up Skyla."

"…This isn't over." Skyla replied after a moment before she turned and left with Bagon.

"Guess I failed again." Ash sighed to himself.

_'You did all you could Ash.'_ Riley's voice assured him within his mind. _'The rest is up to Skyla.'_

* * *

With the tournament over Ash and the others went back to the Pokemon Center, where Misty discovered they had a device for reviving fossils. After sending her Frillish back to her family's gym, she had the Dome Fossil revived into a Kabuto. As the group left the Pokemon Center and went back into the tunnels with Sandy and Dirk, the brown horseshoe crab-like creature that was Kabuto rode on the back of Misty's bag.

"Thanks again for letting me have that Dome Fossil Ash." Misty told him as they walked. "You know Kabuto's actually kinda cute."

"That's a little odd to hear you say that Misty, considering that Kabuto looks a little like a bug." Chili pointed out.

"I don't really see it." Misty replied.

"Really? Because…"

"Shut up Chili." Ash told him with a somewhat threatening glare.

"Okay." Chili quickly replied, flinching a bit. Before long, the group came to a fork in the tunnels and stopped.

"The tunnel on the left will take you back to the pass and get you a little closer to Virbank City." Dirk told them. "Sandy and I are going to head down the other tunnel to check out some ruins we've heard about."

"Then I guess this is goodbye for now." Ash replied.

"It was nice running into you guys again." Sandy told them before heading down the tunnel with Dirk.

Ash and the others went down the other tunnel to continue their journey. Though it seemed that they still had a long way to go.

* * *

**Author's Note:** That battle ended up being a little different than I had originally planned. Before I was going to have Ash's Carracosta use Blizzard, but Smack Down seemed more appropriate. Misty getting a Kabuto was sort of a last minute idea that I decided to run with. It is a Water-type after all. As for Skyla's Bagon, I got the idea for that after seeing some fan art online of Skyla together with a Salamence and noticed a similar color scheme between them. Plus it felt a little symbolic to me.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	41. Tournament of Rivals

**Author's Note:** We now come to the next big story arc of this tale. The World Tournament Arc, which is also known as the Bianca arc. So get ready for one heck of a ride.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 40: Tournament of Rivals

The sky above was filled with dark-grey clouds as Bianca climbed a steep rock wall next to a waterfall to what was to be her final test. Much had happened to Bianca since the day she captured Thundurus. In addition to helping Bianca track down Tornadus, Miyamoto took her under her wing and began to train her intensely. Then after almost three weeks of flying around Unova in the Bandit they tracked down Tornadus. It was a difficult battle for both Bianca and Wobbuffet, but in the end the wind deity was captured.

That was not enough for Bianca though. She knew there was another Legendary Pokemon like Tornadus and Thundurus and she wanted all three. To Bianca that was the only way she could prove to the world just how strong she really was. But Bianca didn't even know where to start looking. So while James and Persian began to do more research into the matter, Bianca resumed going around Unova to challenge the gyms. And eventually she had earned four more badges, bringing her total up to eight. But again, even though Bianca now had enough badges to enter the Unova League she wouldn't be satisfied until she had the final member of the Kami Trio.

Then only two days before, James and Persian finally figured out what needed to be done to call the final elemental deity. So Bianca was headed to that location. It was a long and dangerous climb up the rock face. There were several times when Bianca almost slipped. But at last she made to the top, and before her only a few feet away was a small shrine erected in honor of the Kami Trio's final member. Only seconds after Bianca made it to the top, Wobbuffet emerged from his Pokeball.

"Here we are Bobbuffet, the Abundant Shrine." Bianca stated proudly. "Now all we have to do is summon Landorus. Go Tornadus, Thundurus!"

The two elemental deities emerged from their thrown balls. As soon as they did they began to glare at one another as if they wanted to settle an old score.

"Cut that out!" Bianca scolded with the stomp of her foot, causing both deities to flinch. "Now summon Landorus!"

Thundurus and Tornadus looked from Bianca to each other for a moment before grudgingly raising their hands towards the shine. A beam of blue light shot out from the palm of Thundurus' right hand and hit the shrine while a beam of green light shot out from the palm of Tornadus' left hand. Soon a pillar of golden light shot up into the sky from the shrine. The light faded after a moment a soon Landorus descended from the sky. He looked almost exactly like Tornadus and Thundurus, only his skin was orange and the spots on his body were dark-pink. He had three dark-pink horns on the top of his head and the white hair that grew from the back of his head was shaped like a log. His tail, which curved around to the front of his body, was dark-brown and resembled a thick tree root. The land deity hovered before Bianca with a glare.

"Go Jellicent!" Bianca called as she threw out another Pokeball.

The ghostly pink jellyfish that had evolved from her Frillish flew out of her ball. Since evolving her head had grown much larger and had gained a wavy collar. Her face had gained eyelashes and a pair of heart-shaped lips. The ends of the tentacles that hung below her body had become more frilled. Bianca was a little intimidated by Landorus hovering before her. But she remembered the strategy she and Miyamoto had devised to capture the Pokemon of Abundance.

"Now Jellicent! Hit Landorus with Attract!" Bianca commanded.

Jellicent gave Landorus a seductive wink, causing a pink energy heart to float over from her eye and hit Landorus in the face. In an instant, the land deity was love-struck.

"Use Water Pulse!" Bianca ordered.

The ghostly jellyfish queen raised her right arm tentacle and in its palm formed a ball of glowing blue-green water. Jellicent threw the water ball, hitting Landorus in the face. The still love-struck Landorus suddenly looked dazed.

"Good, Landorus is confused." Bianca observed. "And with Attract in effect, there's a good chance he won't fight back. Use Water Pulse once more!"

Jellicent threw another glowing ball of water at the land deity, hitting him once again in the face. Landorus began to swerve around in the air as if he was having trouble staying afloat.

"Use Ice Beam!" Bianca commanded.

Jellicent fired a crackling white bolt of lightning from her mouth at Landorus and hit him in the chest. Ice began to form where Landorus was struck and quickly spread over his body. In a matter of seconds Landorus was completely encased in ice, with a small pillar of ice connecting him to the ground.

"It's now or never! Go Ultra Ball!" Bianca called as she threw an empty Pokeball at the frozen Landorus.

The ball hit Landorus and sucked him inside. Bianca and her Pokemon watched intently as the ball jiggled on the ground. A few tense moments past and at last the ball stopped moving and made the noise that signaled Landorus' capture. Bianca cheered and excitedly ran over and picked up the ball.

"How do ya like me now?" Bianca asked Tornadus and Thundurus as she held out Landorus' Pokeball to them.

Thundurus and Tornadus looked at Bianca with shocked expressions as if they could not believe she had managed to capture their leader. After a moment the pair of Legendary Pokemon bowed to their master.

"That's better. Now return!" Bianca ordered as she called Tornadus, Thundurus, and Jellicent back to their balls.

"Good job Bianca." Miyamoto told her as she suddenly walked up with Jessie, James, and Persian. "I knew those two would respect you once you captured their boss."

"What about Landorus though?" Bianca asked. "Will he respect me?"

"I have a good feeling that he will after the way you took him down like that." Miyamoto assured her. "I'm quite proud of you Bianca. You've come a long way from the bumbling little girl that you used to be. In fact after all the time we've spent together training I've started to think of you as a second daughter."

"Aw, thanks." Bianca replied. "I actually don't know what it's like to have a mom. Mine died before I got the chance to know her."

As Bianca and Miyamoto talked, Persian glanced over at the shrine and caught a glimmer of light shining from behind the doors. The feline Pokemon instantly became intrigued.

"Well now, what do we have here?" Persian wondered with a grin. "Say James old boy, I think there might be something in that shrine. Be a good fellow and check it out, will you?"

James went over and opened the doors of the shrine. Sitting inside was an old very ornate-looking mirror. James picked it up to examine it more closely. Turning it over in his hands he found ancient writing inscribed on the back.

"Now what do you suppose this mirror was used for?" James wondered as he walked over with it.

"Maybe it has something to do with Landorus." Jessie theorized.

"We might as well take it with us to examine aboard the Bandit." Miyamoto decided. "At the very least we could probably sell it for some cash. In the meantime Bianca, I think it's time that you showed your new power to the world. On the way over here I heard of a competition known as the Pokemon World Tournament. It's not as big as the Pokemon League competition, but it should be a good enough stage for you to showcase your strength."

"Then I'll enter." Bianca decided with determined expression on her face. "And I'll prove to everyone, even my dad, that I'm not just some little kid."

"First though, we should probably get you a new outfit." Jessie suggested, noting the tattered condition of Bianca's clothing. "If you're going to show the world you power than you should probably be well-dressed for it."

* * *

After three weeks of traveling through the end of Twist Mountain Pass, Ash and his companions had finally arrived at Brass Town, a small town just south of Drifveil City. From there a small barge was to take them to Virbank City, and the final gym where Ash would earn his final Unova gym badge. But that morning upon getting to the docks, the group was dismayed to find that the barge to Virbank wasn't due for another four days. At a loss as to what to do they headed back to the Pokemon Center.

"Looks like we're the victim of bad timing." Chili observed as they sat around a table in the waiting area. "There's not much to do here in Brass Town while we wait for the barge."

"There has to be something." Misty told him.

"Well now, it seems we have some travelers who're stuck." A familiar voice cut in. Ash and the others looked to see it was Alder.

"Oh, hey Alder." Ash greeted. "Nice running into you here."

"Good to see you too Ash." Alder agreed. "And you too Mitsy, Chappy."

"It's Misty." She corrected.

"And my name is Chili, remember?" Chili added.

"Right, right." Alder replied with a grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"So Alder, what brings you here?" Ash inquired.

"I'm here to help host the Pokemon World Tournament." The Unova champion explained. "It's a small competition that trainers from all over the world come to enter."

"How long does this tournament go for?" Misty asked.

"About three days. Today is the first day actually." Alder revealed. "Though there's still enough time for you to enter if you're interested in participating."

"I don't know about you guys, but I haven't been in a tournament for a long time." Ash informed the others.

"You can count me in." Chili replied enthusiastically. "I'd love the chance to face a tournament full of strong trainers."

"Sounds fun to me." Misty agreed. "Plus it beats just sitting around here all day waiting for the barge."

With that, Alder led the group to the stadium where the tournament was to take place. Once they were there, Alder left them to sign up. As it turned out there were only three spots left in the competition.

"I would've expected for this to have more people in it." Misty noted. "There are only eight people in this thing counting us."

"Looks like we might just end up facing each other." Ash pointed out. "Though wouldn't mind that one bit."

"I wonder who else is competing?" Chili asked.

"You four are in the tournament too?" a rude arrogant voice cut in. Ash and the others looked to see that it was Trip. "And here I thought I was going to have more of a challenge."

"You really are full of yourself, aren't you punk?" Ash observed.

"I know that I'm way more skilled than you three." Trip replied. "And don't get confident just because you beat Alder that one time. I know now that he's nothing but a joke."

"He was just having an off day." Ash retorted. "Don't be surprised if before this tournament is over you find out you're not as strong as you think you are."

"At last we met again Chili!" another familiar voice interrupted.

Ash and the others looked to see a girl with long green hair and brown eyes wearing a sort of ninja outfit. Ash quickly remembered the girl as Rio Ogata, a trainer who vowed revenge on Chili after losing a gym battle to him.

"You may have beaten me before, but now at last I will have my revenge on you!" Rio proclaimed. "You and your precious Fire Pokemon don't stand a chance against me!"

"Um, who're you again?" Chili asked as he scratched his head.

"What? How could you not remember your own arch nemesis?" an enraged Rio asked.

"Don't you remember Chili? She lost a gym battle to you and had to pay that huge bill for the lunch she ate at that restaurant you and your brothers ran out of your gym." Ash reminded him. "Then her parents got mad at her and forced her to stay home, where she trained and became a ninja."

"Yeah, and then she ambushed us in Pinwheel Forest and challenged you to a battle." Misty added. "All of your Pokemon ended up getting poisoned."

"…Oh yeah." Chili finally recalled. "I was hoping I'd run into you again Rio. I'm looking forward to our rematch."

"Shut up!" Rio shot back. "By the time I'm through with you, you will rue the day you ever met me!"

"Yeah, if he ever remembers it." Misty quietly remarked to Ash, causing him to snicker a bit.

"Misty!" a familiar voice called.

Everyone looked to see Bianca approaching. She had a calm yet determined and somewhat angry expression on her face. Her outfit was quite different from before. She had on a black version of her normal hat, along with a black t-shirt with a white vest and a pair of tight jeans that was black on the left side and white on the right. On the front of her silver rectangular belt buckle was a letter R.

"Bianca. You're in this tournament too?" a surprised Misty asked.

"That's right. And in it I'm going to prove to everyone that I'm not weak." Bianca declared. "Even you."

"But Bianca…" Misty began.

"I remember you. You're that airhead from Professor Juniper's lab who picked that weak Tepig." Trip interrupted. "You're joking if you think someone who started their journey out as late as you has a chance even in this weak a tournament."

Trip's remark caused Bianca to give him an angry glare. "You better hope that you don't end up battling me."

"Will all competitors please report to the arena?" a voice over the intercom requested. "The competition is about to begin."

"Looks like we're on." Bianca told the others as she headed for the arena. "We'll settle this in the ring."

After Bianca left, Ash and the others followed. The group passed through the door to the arena to find the stands packed to the rafters with expectant fans. Alder soon took to the arena floor and the crowed grew silent.

"Welcome everyone to the twenty-sixth annual Pokemon World Tournament!" Alder greeted into microphone, earning a cheer from the audience. "Now then, all of the matches in the first round have been decided randomly by computer. That said; let's get things started. First up is a challenger who's traveled all the way from Kanto. Please welcome Ash Ketchum!"

The crowd cheered a bit as Ash took the stage with Pikachu and Lucario at his side.

"Facing Ash in the first battle is Christof…" Alder began to announce, but paused as he squinted to read the rest of the card he was holding. "Hmm, I can't seem to read the last name. It seems to be written as some sort of unpronounceable symbol. Ah well. Anyway, he comes all the way from Johto and is known as an artist and a master of interpretive dance. So give him a big hand everyone."

Walking onto the other side of the stage was a young man who looked to be about Ash's age and had slicked back black hair. He wore a pair of sunglasses with round wire frames and a black turtleneck sweater with tan slacks. Walking at his side was a Pokemon that was mainly pale-green in color and resembled a bipedal beagle. The top of its head looked like a beret and the end of its long tail looked like a paintbrush with black paint dripping from the end. The creature's ears were brown and it had brown circles around its eyes. It seemed to have a thick brown collar around its neck. Both of its wrists had two brown bands on them and there was a single brown band on each of its ankles. Ash recognized the Pokemon as a Smeargle.

"I am Chrisof, and this is my Smeargle, Clause." Ash's opponent introduced. "Ve vill be your opponents this battle, ya?"

"Uh, yeah. Looking forward to it." Ash replied with a raised eyebrow. Alder left the stage and the referee took his place.

"This match will be a one-on-one battle!" the referee declared. "And, begin!"

"Go Volcorona!" Ash called as he threw out a ball. The giant moth flew out onto the battlefield.

"Clause! To ze stage!" Cristof ordered. Clause the Smeargal nodded and walked onto the field.

"Let's start out strong Volcorona! Fiery Dance!" Ash commanded.

Volcorona began to flap her wings and her eyes began to glow blue as she gracefully flitted around in the air. Suddenly her body became covered in crimson flames and with a flap of her wings she sent a wave of fire at Clause. After being hit by the flames, the art beagle cried out, clutched his chest, and spun around twice before slumping onto the floor as if dead.

"Did I really hit him that hard?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I know Ash has been training with Volcorona extra hard lately, but her attack couldn't have done that much damage." Chili observed on the sidelines.

"I think Clause might be doing some kind of acting." Misty theorized.

"Oh, beautiful!" Christof exclaimed as if tears had come to his eyes. "Ze suffering, ze drama! Za flames that dazzle ze eyes and mock ze very essence of hope, I must capture zat move! Clause! Sketch!"

Clause quickly jumped back to his feet and waved the brush of his tail in the air. The paint from the brush formed into a frozen black and white image of Volcorona's attack. The art beagle's eyes glowed yellow and the image was sucked into them.

"Now! Fiery Dance!" Christof commanded.

Clause began to leap around on the field with graceful movements and twirl in the air as his eyes began to glow blue. His body became covered in red flames as he landed on the ground. And with a wave of the brush on his tail he sent out a wave of fire that hit Volcorona and knocked her back half a foot.

"What the heck just happened?" Ash wondered.

"Zat was Sketch, the special move that all Smeargle possess." Christof explained. "With it, Clause is able to copy any move and make it his own."

"Well it won't do you any good here!" Ash declared. "Volcorona, use Signal Beam!"

The fire moth shot beams of multicolored light from her eyes that hit Clause in the chest. Clause clutched his chest and fell to his knees in an overly dramatic way as if he had received a mortal wound.

"Beautiful, simply stunning." Christof commented. "Clause! Quiver Dance and Hydro Pump!"

Clause leapt around and twirled in the air with graceful movements, glowing briefly with a multicolored light upon landing. Afterwards he opened his mouth and sprayed Volcorona with a powerful stream of water. Volcorona was knocked to the ground but quickly got back into the air.

"Beautiful, ya?" Christof asked. "Clause sketched zat move from an elegant Milotic vhen ve vere in Hoenn last year."

"You can collect with all the beautiful moves you want, but they won't do a thing if you don't know how to use them right." Ash told him. "Volcorona, hit Clause one more time with Fiery Dance!"

The fire moth flapped her wings and flitted around in the air, as she once more became shrouded in flames. With another flap she hit Clause with another wave of fire. The art beagle clutched his chest, staggered, and twirled around five times before finally falling to the ground unconscious.

"He sure milked that one." Chili remarked on the sidelines.

"Clause is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Volcorona!"

"Marvelous!" Christof declared as Ash called back Volcorona. Clause soon regained consciousness and got back to his feet. "Vhat a beautiful defeat. Truly it vas an honor to face you."

"Uh, thanks." Ash replied with a confused expression.

"Come Clause." Christof commanded as he walked off. Clause nodded and followed.

"Man, that was a weird battle." Ash commented to Pikachu and Lucario as they walked off stage.

"Chu." Pikachu agreed as they headed over to where Misty and Chili were to watch the next battle.

"You did good out there." Misty told Ash as they walked up.

"Thanks." Ash replied. "I guess I'll be facing whoever wins the next battle next."

"Guys, I have a feeling that this tournament has only just started to heat up." Chili commented.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I wanted Ash to face a weird comical opponent in the first round of the tournament. Originally the opponent was going to be some sort of disco fanatic. But then I remembered Smeargle, a sort of underused Pokemon in the anime. That's when I got the idea to have Ash's opponent be one of those weird artist types. In case anyone's wondering, Christof's accent was supposed to be German. I'm not sure if I wrote it very well though. I still have some trouble with writing accents in dialogue.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	42. Triumph and Tragedy

**Author's Note:** This chapter ended up being sort of a double feature. Originally this chapter was going to be to separate ones, but the first battle ended up being so short I decided to combine them. I kinda feel it works better this way though.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 41: Triumph and Tragedy

The second battle of the Pokemon World Tournament's first round was already nearing it end. The battle was between Trip, who was using his fully evolved Serperior, and a trainer from Kanto named Collin, who was using an Onix. From the start of the battle Collin and his Onix had been completely outmatched. And from the way things had gone it seemed clear to Ash and his companions that Trip was to be Ash's opponent in the semifinal round. Up on the arena stage, Trip and his Serperior were about to deliver the finishing blow.

"Serperior! Use Frenzy Plant!" Trip commanded.

Trip's Serperior glowed with a green aura and suddenly massive brown roots began to burst up out of the ground in a path towards Onix. In seconds the massive rock serpent was thrust up into the air by the viscous plant life and hurled back to the ground. When it was all over, Onix was out cold.

"Onix is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Trip and Serperior!"

With the battle over, Trip and Collin called back their respective Pokemon and walked off stage. Trip passed by Ash and the others on his way off stage and gave Ash a look of contempt as he walked by.

"He really is full of himself." Misty remarked to Ash.

"Maybe I'll be able to knock him down to size in the next round." Ash replied.

"Well, that was certainly a quick second battle." Alder commented after taking the stage again. "Now it's time for battle number three. Our first challenger was one of the leaders of the Striation City Gym before he began to travel. Please welcome Chili Colton."

"Well, guess that's my cue." Chili told Ash and Misty as the audience began to cheer. "Wish me luck guys."

"Knock 'em dead Chili." Ash replied before Chili walked off.

"Facing Chili in this battle is a young lady who once trained under the famed Koga of Kanto and Johto's Elite Four." Alder announced as Chili walked on stage. "Please give a warm welcome to Rio Ogata."

The audience cheered as Rio took the stage. She looked across at Chili with a determined glare.

"So Chili, it seems that we shall settle our old score sooner than expected." Rio observed. "But by the time I'm through with you'll be begging for mercy."

"Um, do we know each other?" Chili asked as he scratched the back of his head, causing Rio, Ash, and Misty to fall over in surprise.

"Chili! You just met her again less than an hour ago!" Misty shouted up from the sidelines. "She's the crazy ninja who wants revenge on you, remember?"

"Who're you calling crazy?" an offended Rio shot back.

"…Oh yeah." Chili finally recalled. "Sorry, guess I've got a lot on my mind right now."

"This match will be a one-on-one battle!" the referee declared. "Begin!"

"So you can remember me, huh? By the time I'm through with you, the memory of me will be burned into your brain!" Rio declared as she threw out a Pokeball. "Go Breloom!"

Bursting out of the ball was a creature that stood at about four feet tall and looked to me a cross between a plant, a dinosaur, and a kangaroo. Much of its lower body was green and it had red claws in its feet and stubby arms. Its long tail was tan and had four green balls on the end. Its long tan neck ended in an almost flower petal-like collar, and atop its tan reptilian head was a green mushroom cap with what looked like two red berries on the side.

"Let's go Monferno!" Chili called as he threw a ball of his own. The fiery primate burst out onto the field. "Use Fire Punch!"

"Strike with Mach Punch!" Rio ordered.

Before Monferno could make a move Breloom's stubby right arm stretched out and struck Monferno in the side of the jaw. The fiery primate quickly recovered though and dashed at Breloom to deliver a flame-covered punch. The fist made contact to the mushroom creature's chest and delivered a damaging blow. When Monferno withdrew his fist though he suddenly took hold of his forehead as if he had become ill.

"Hey, you okay Monferno?" a concerned Chili asked.

"Well, it seems that this battle has already turned in my favor." Rio laughed. "Your Monferno was poisoned by Breloom's Effect Spore ability when it struck with that punch. Now Breloom! Attack with Venoshock!"

Breloom opened its mouth and spat out a blob of green gunk at Monferno that hit the fire primate in the face. Monferno cried out as his body crackled with purple electricity.

"This is the same kind of strategy that Rio used before." Misty recalled.

"Yeah, and it's worse this time since this is a one-on-one battle." Ash pointed out. "If Chili doesn't end this soon it's all over for him."

"Hang in there, Monferno!" Chili called.

Monferno recovered from Breloom's last attack and suddenly cried out as he began to glow with a white light. The primate changed shape and grew to the same height as Breloom. When the light cleared, his fur had become brownish-red with white fur covering his torso, lower legs, and the sides of his head. His hands, feet, and the inside of his ears had become blue while the marking on his brow had changed to a deep blood red. A pair of golden rings adorned his chest and his shoulders, wrists, and ankles had swirling gold ornaments. The ape's eyes had turned yellow with blue irises and a large flame burned atop his head.

"Wow, Monferno just evolved into Infernape." Ash observed with awe.

"This is… awesome!" Chili declared with an excited grin as he pumped his fist. "Okay Infernape, let's show Rio the power of our blazing hot passion! Close Combat!"

Infernape shrieked and beat his chest with his fists as the flame on his head became brighter and more intense. He somersaulted over to Breloom and delivered a one-two punch to the mushroom creature's face with his feet. The primate then flipped over Breloom, whacking it in the face with his tail in the process. Afterwards Infernape spun around and gave Brelom another one-two punch to the back of the head, followed by a roundhouse kick to the side.

"Fight back with Venoshock!" a frustrated Rio commanded.

"Dodge and use Blaze Kick!" Chili ordered.

After recovering from the brutal assault, Breloom spat another green blob at Infernape. But the fire primate dodged the attack by leaping into the air and delivered a flying kick covered in flames to Breloom's chest. Breloom fell to the ground on its side unconscious.

"Breloom is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory goes to Chili and Infernape!"

"That was an awesome battle." Chili declared as Rio called back Breloom. "You were really good."

"You may have won this time Chili. But next time victory will be mine!" Rio declared before throwing a smoke bomb. When the cloud of smoke cleared, Rio was nowhere to be seen.

"Was it something I said?" Chili wondered as he called back Infernape and walked off stage.

"Well, that was quite the battle." Alder commented as he walked back on stage. "Now then, for our final battle for today, please welcome our final to competitors, Misty Waterflower and Bianca Edmonds."

"Well, I guess I'm up." Misty told Ash and Chili. "Though I have to admit that I'm not looking forward to facing Bianca because of the little misunderstanding we had."

"Maybe this is the opportunity to set things straight." Ash pointed out.

"He's right Misty." Chili agreed. "Sometime the best way for trainers to talk things out is with a battle."

"…Yeah, you're right." Misty agreed after a moment. "I'm going to do my best to settle things with Bianca."

"See ya in the next round Misty." Chili said with a thumbs-up as Misty walked off.

Both Misty and Bianca walked onto the stage. Bianca stared back at Misty with an angry glare.

"I want you to use Suicune Misty." Bianca demanded.

"What? Bianca, how do you…?" Misty began to ask.

"Don't play dumb! I know you have Suicune, so send it out!" Bianca demanded fiercely. "Or do you think I'm too weak to face it?"

"This match will be a one-on-one battle!" the referee declared. "Begin!"

"Do it!" Bianca dared.

"…Fine." Misty finally agreed with a sigh before throwing out her ball. "Go Suicune!"

The legendary beast of the north winds burst out of its ball with a roar. The audience gazed with awe at the Legendary Pokemon.

"Wow, Misty actually took Bianca's challenge." Chili commented on the sidelines. "She must want to prove herself pretty badly."

"Yeah, but I'm more worried about how Bianca even knew that Misty even had Suicune." Ash pointed out.

"Maybe Noir Mask told her." Chili theorized. "You said you ran into you around the time you guys caught Suicune and Ho-Oh."

"Yeah… maybe." Ash replied, though he wasn't sure that Chili was right.

"I don't know what it is you want to prove Bianca, but…" Misty began to tell her.

"Go Thundurus!" Bianca called out, cutting Misty off.

The legendary deity of thunder flew out of the thrown ball and hovered over the field before Suicune with his arms crossed over his chest. The audience was completely stunned, as was Misty. Suicune growled and bared its teeth at Thundurus.

"Ash, that's one of the Legendary Pokemon that old woman told us about on our way to Icirrus City." Chili reminded him with a worried expression. "It's the one that can cause thunderstorms."

"Oh no. Misty!" Ash called in a worried tone.

"Thundurus, use Thunder Bolt!" Bianca commanded.

"Uh, Suicune, dodge and use Aurora Beam!" Misty commanded after getting over her shock.

Thundurus shot a bolt of blue electricity up into the air that shot down towards where Suicune was standing. The beast of water quickly dashed out of the lightning's path and came around to Thundurus' left side. Suicune opened its mouth and fired a beam of multicolored light that hit the thunder deity in the chest as he turned to face his opponent.

"That attack seemed to do a lot of damage." Chili observed. "Looks like if Misty has any chance of winning this she's going to have to rely on Suicune's Ice-type attacks."

"Now use Ice Fang!" Misty ordered.

"Hit Suicune with Focus Blast!" Bianca commanded.

As Suicune charged at Thudurus as an icy mist began to pour out the sides of its mouth. But before the beast of water could get in range, Thundurus threw a ball of light-blue energy that hit Suicune in the face and stopped it in its tracks. Suicune recovered from the attack and snarled at Thundurus.

"Don't give up Suicune!" Misty called out. "Use Aurora Beam again!"

"Dodge and use Thunder Punch!" Bianca ordered.

Suicune fired another beam of light from its mouth at the thunder deity. Thundurus quickly moved out of the way of the attack and got in close to Suicune. Before the beast of water could react, Thundurus reached under and delivered a powerful electrified punch to Suicune's gut. The force of the impact threw Suicune into the air and knocked it onto its side. Suicune was unconscious with its tongue hanging out. It was over.

"No, Suicune!" Misty called with a worried tone.

"Uh, Suicune is unable to battle!" the referee declared after getting over his shock at seeing to Legendary Pokemon face off. "Victory goes to Bianca and Thundurus!"

Ash ran up to Misty's side with Pikachu and Lucario as Bianca called back Thundurus. Bianca gave Misty one last silent glare before turning on her heel and walking off stage. Misty called Suicune back to its ball and fell to her knees.

* * *

With the end of Misty and Bianca's battle the first day of the Pokemon World Tournament had come to an end. That evening back at the Pokemon Center Ash and the others waited as Suicune's injuries were tended to. After what seemed like an hour, Nurse Joy returned with Suicune and Infernape's Pokeballs.

"Is Suicune going to be okay?" Misty asked.

"It'll be just fine." Nurse Joy assured her as she handed her the ball. "Though it probably shouldn't battle for a couple of days."

After Nurse Joy also returned Infernape's Pokeball to Chili she left. Misty sent Suicune out of its ball to see how the beast of water was doing. Suicune emerged lying down on the ground. Misty went over and kneeled down next to Suicune.

"I'm sorry Suicune. This… this is all my fault." Misty spoke as tears began come to her eyes. "If I hadn't been so mean to Bianca before…"

Suicune cut Misty off by licking her in the face. Ash came over and placed a hand on your shoulder, causing her to look up.

"This isn't your fault Misty." Ash assured her. "This is because Bianca is trying so hard to prove she's a strong trainer. And probably because Noir Mask got to her."

"Bianca sure did do a pretty good job of proving how strong she was in that battle though." Chili pointed out. "I mean she has a Legendary Pokemon like you guys now."

"Legendary Pokemon are powerful but they aren't unbeatable." Ash reminded him. "If they were, nobody would be able to catch them. All we have to do is figure out how to beat Thundurus."

"I'm up against Bianca next, so just leave it to me." Chili confidently assured him. "I'll find a way to take her down."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Those of you reading might've noticed that I made up a few more last names for the characters. Well, Chili's at least. A friend of mine mentioned that Williams has been used for Misty's last name a few times. I still don't get why the anime writers find it so hard to give last names to the characters. Anyway, next up is the epic battle between Ash and Trip. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	43. Champion Alder

**Author's Note:** I got quite a few reviews in the last chapter saying that Misty's last name was Waterflower. I had heard that too, but I had also heard that Williams has also been used in other fics. And that Waterflower was not her official last name. But whatever, I went ahead and made the change in the last chapter. So I'm sorry if that cause problems for anyone.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 42: Champion Alder

The second day of the Pokemon World Tournament had arrived, and just as before the stadium seating was packed to the rafters. Word that Bianca had Thundurus had spread quickly, and the fans were all excited to see a trainer with at least one Legendary Pokemon on their team in action. But of course there was going to be a little wait before Bianca took the stage again. For the battle that was to come next was the battle between Ash and Trip. Ash and his companions arrived to see Trip waiting for them by the stage.

"I was starting to wonder if you were going to show up." Trip told Ash with his usual stern expression. "Our battle is set to start any minute."

"I had something I needed to take care of before coming here." Ash explained.

"Whatever." Trip huffed indifferently. "Whether you showed up or not, the result would've been the same. I'm going to be advancing to the final round."

"Still pretty sure of yourself, aren't ya punk?" Ash observed. "You realize though if you did somehow manage to beat me you'd be up against Bianca. And she has a Legendary Pokemon on her team."

"That makes no difference." Trip replied. "She may have a Legendary Pokemon, my skill level is higher than hers. Maybe if your girlfriend had a better skill level she might've actually won that last battle. But then I guess she did the best she could do. After all, the two of you are only trainers from Kanto."

"You better watch it punk." Ash warned.

"Hello everyone!" Alder greeted the crowd up on stage into his microphone. "Welcome to the semifinal round of the Pokemon World Tournament. For our first battle, please welcome back Ash Ketchum and Trip Connors."

"Looks like were on." Trip told Ash as he walked to the stage. "Try not to look so surprised when you lose."

"That little…" Misty started to curse, but held back.

"He defiantly needs to be taught a lesson Ash." Chili remarked.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it." Ash assured them before walking off with Pikachu and Lucario.

Ash Alder left the stage Ash and Trip took their positions. The audience was silent as the two challengers glared at one another. At last the referee took the stage.

"This match shall be a two-on-two Pokemon battle!" the referee declared. "During the battle, both challengers may switch Pokemon! Begin!"

"Go Conkeldurr!" Trip called as he threw out his first Pokeball. The muscular Pokemon emerged onto the field with his two concrete beams in hand.

"Go Serperior!" Ash called as he threw out his own ball. Ash's grass serpent emerged from her ball to face Conkeldurr.

"Looks like Trip's Timburr evolved a few times since we last saw him." Chili observed.

"Ash will still beat him." Misty assured him.

"He should be able to judging just by how well he seems to have raised that Serperior of his." A familiar voice added, causing Misty and Chili to look and see that it was Rio.

"Do we know you?" Chili asked, causing Rio to fall back and Misty to sigh heavily.

"You battled her yesterday in the tournament, remember?" Misty reminded him. "She wants to defeat you to get revenge?"

"Oh yeah." Chili recalled. "Sorry. I guess I've been trying so hard to figure out a strategy to use against Bianca that I forgot."

"One day I will make you pay for all these insults!" Rio proclaimed.

"Why are you even back, Rio?" Misty asked.

"If I can't have the satisfaction of defeating Chili myself, then I thought I'd at least amuse myself by seeing Chili be defeated by that girl with the Thudurus crush him." Rio explained. "For now I'm just killing time by seeing your friend's battle."

"Conkeldurr, use Bulk-Up followed by Strength!" Trip commanded back up on stage.

"Dodge and Use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered.

Conkeldurr flexed his muscles and briefly glowed with a red aura as the veins on his arms and legs bulged. The muscular Pokemon then charged at Serperior swinging his concrete slabs. Serperior quickly moved her head out of the way of each swing and then glowed with a green aura as she called forth a twister of green leaves. The leaf-filled tornado hit Conkeldurr and knocked him back a foot.

"Now use Attract followed by Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.

Serperior waved her tail in front of her face like a fan and gave Conkeldurr a seductive wink. A pink energy heart floated over from her eye and his Conkeldurr in the face. Once the muscle Pokemon was paralyzed by love, Serperior came around from behind and started striking him in the back repeatedly with her whips. Serperior grinned as Conkeldurr was enthralled by the assault.

"This somehow seems wrong." Rio commented on the sidelines.

"Yeah, Serperior looks like she's enjoying this a little too much." Misty agreed.

"Maybe Ash having her use Attract and Vine Whip so many times has warped her mind a little." Chili theorized.

At last Serperior's assault ended and Conkeldurr fell to the ground face-first. The muscle Pokemon was out cold. After her victory Serperior looked over at Lucario with a predatory grin and winked. The jackal Pokemon blushed and his eyes widened a bit.

"Conkeldurr is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the first round goes to Ash and Serperior."

"A lucky shot." Trip said indifferently as he called back his fallen Pokemon. "Go Lampent!" The ghostly lantern emerged from its ball onto the field. "Don't think you can get out of this using Attarct like last time. My Lampent happens to be a girl."

"Good for you. Like it matters." Ash replied. "Serperior, use Leaf Storm!"

Serperior conjured another twister of leaves that went over and struck Lampent. The ghostly lantern was almost knocked out of the air.

"Use Flamethrower!" Trip commanded.

Lampent shot Serperior in the chest with a stream of purple flames, causing her to cry out. Lucario looked on and growled as he gritted his teeth.

"Easy Lucario." Ash told him. "Serperior, use Leaf Storm again!"

Serperior recovered from Lampent's attack and sent forth another leaf-filled tornado. Lampet was sucked into the twister and expelled with great force. The ghostly lantern recovered from the attack however.

"Wait, something's off." Rio realized. "Serperior's Leaf Storm attack is way stronger than it should be."

"What do you mean?" Misty asked.

"Well while Leaf Storm is a powerful attack, the downside is that it drains the user's attack strength." Rio explained.

"Oh, sort of like Overheat." Chili realized.

"A crud but accurate description." Rio confirmed. "This means that Serperior's Leaf Storm should be getting weaker with each use. But Ash has had her use it three times now, and each time it's gotten stronger."

"What does that mean?" Misty asked.

"I don't know." Rio answered.

"Now Serperior! Finish it with Solar Beam!" Ash commanded.

Serperior glowed as solar energy gathered in her body. She reared back her head and blasted Lampent with a concentrated beam of sunlight. Lampent fell to the ground unconscious.

"Lampent is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory for the match goes to Ash and Serperior!"

As Trip called back Lampent, Serperior slithered over to Lucario's side and coiled loosely around him. She extended her vine whips and began to stroke the back of Lucario's left ear and his chest, causing him to blush and his eyes to widen again. The grass serpent spoke to Lucario in their own Pokemon language as she used one of her whips to stroke his right upper arm. Ash noticed this and called Serperior back to her ball, causing Lucario to breath a sigh of relief.

"Man, you two seem to have an odd relationship going on." Ash noted to Lucario as he scratched the back of his head.

"This is a joke!" Trip yelled, getting Ash's attention. "There's no way I could lose to someone like you!"

"Why's that? Because I'm just some nobody from Kanto?" Ash asked. "You don't know anything else about me. About all the other gym leaders and trainers fought before coming to Unova. While you just started your journey not too long ago."

"What, so you're better than me because you're more well-traveled?" Trip angrily asked. "You're nothing! All you are, is just someone who's beaten a bunch of nothing gyms and trainers from the Styx! There's no way someone like you could beat someone like me!"

"That is quite enough." Alder interrupted as he walked up on stage next to Ash.

"Alder, what…?" Trip began to ask.

"Ash, why don't I take it from here?" Alder suggested.

"Knock yourself out." Ash agreed as he walked off stage with his two Pokemon companions.

"What, so now you're going to teach me a lesson?" Trip scoffed. "You're just a big a joke as Ketchum is."

"Then why not prove it by having a battle with me right now?" Alder suggested. "One-on-one."

"Fine." Trip agreed. "I can't think of any better time than to show the world what a joke you are."

"Referee, if you please." Alder requested.

"Yes sir. This shall be a special one-on-one Pokemon battle between the champion, Alder, and the challenger, Trip Connors!" the referee declared. "Begin!"

"Let's go Bouffalant!" Alder called as he threw out a Pokeball. The afro-wearing bull burst out of the ball onto the field.

"Go Serperior!" Trip called with the throw of his own ball. Trip's own grass serpent emerged to face Bouffalant. "Use Solar Beam!"

"Run right in and use Head Charge!" Alder commanded.

The bull Pokemon charged at Trip's Serperior as the serpent collected sunlight into itself. Just as Bouffalant came in striking distance, Trip's Serperior blasted the bull with a beam of solar energy. The beam impacted Bouffalant's head but did no damage. Instead the bull briefly glowed with a white light before ramming into the grass serpent at top speed. Trip's Serperior was forced back by the impact almost five feet.

"Hey, what gives?" Ash asked on the sidelines. "I'm sure that Solar Beam didn't miss."

"I think I know." Rio answered. "Bouffalant's ability must be Sap Sipper."

"What's Sap Sipper?" Chili asked.

"A deadly ability towards all users of the Grass-type like myself." Rio explained. "Sap Sipper negates all damage from Grass-type attacks and instead makes the Pokemon's attack strength even grater."

"Which means all Trip's attack did was make Bouffalant stronger." Misty quickly realized.

"Serperior, attack with Leaf Storm!" Trip commanded.

The grass serpent created a twister of leaves that blew right into Bouffalant. But the twister only passed over the bull like common air. Bouffalant flashed with another burst of white light as the twister passed.

"You're just making things harder on yourself." Alder told Trip.

"I know Bouffalant's ability is Sap Sipper." Trip revealed, surprising Ash and the others down on the sidelines. "I want Bouffalant to be as strong as possible to make it easier to prove how strong I am when I beat you."

"Quite sure of yourself I see." Alder observed. "Bouffalant, use Head Charge once more!"

The bull Pokemon rammed into Trip's Serperior again. This time Bouffalant thrust its head so that the grass serpent was knocked into the air.

"Just like I planned. Serperior, use Dragon Tail!" Trip commanded.

Just as Trip's Serperior began to crash back to the ground, it flipped around in the air and its tail began to glow with a blue light. As soon as it was in striking distance, Trip's Serperior thrust its tail under Bouffalant from the front and slammed it into the bull Pokemon from below. Bouffalant was knocked high into the air.

"This was my strategy all along." Trip confidently explained. "To strike at Bouffalant's weak point. This battle is all mine."

"You sure about that?" Alder asked. Just then Bouffalant landed back on its feet virtually unscathed.

"What?" a socked Trip exclaimed.

"It was a good strategy you had to attack Bouffalant's weak spot. But you forgot one thing. And that's that I am the champion." Alder pointed out. "Let's end this Bouffalant! Magahorn!"

Bouffalant dash at Trip's Serperior as its horns began to glow with an orange light. The bull Pokemon thrashed the snake using its horns, and when it was over Trip's Serperior was out cold.

"Serperior is unable to battle!" the referee announced. "Victory goes to Alder and Bouffalant!"

"Your have the makings of a good trainer." Alder told Trip as he called back his Serperior. "But you seem to have a problem with making assumptions about other people and things. You assumed I was a joke because you caught me on an off day when you ran into me last time. And you assumed that Ash was weak because he's from Kanto. But tell me Trip, have you ever been to Kanto before?"

"No, but why should that matter?" Trip asked.

"I've been to Kanto a few times. And I can tell you from experience that there are some pretty strong trainers there. Trainers who even almost beat me." Alder revealed. "That's one of the reasons why I travel, to experience new things, and to strengthen the bond between humans and Pokemon. I may have told you once that the key to becoming champion was to get as strong as possible. But I was wrong about that. Strength does not last forever. If you want to become champion Trip, than keep traveling and find your own path."

"…You've given me a lot to think about." Trip told him after a moment. "I'll find my own path then. And when I do I'll come back to battle you again."

"I'll be waiting." Alder assured him as Trip then walked off. Alder called Bouffalant back to its ball and picked up his microphone. "Alright then, now we come to our final battle in the semifinal round. Bianca Edmonds and Chili Colton."

"Well, looks like I'm up again." Chili told the others. "Wish me luck guys."

"Be careful Chili." Misty told him.

"Don't worry, I've got it all taken care of." Chili assured her. "Ash, I'll see you in the final round."

"Good luck." Ash told him as he walked off.

"Ash, do you really think Chili has a chance of beating Bianca and Thundurus?" Misty asked.

"I wouldn't sell Chili short." Ash answered. "If anyone has a chance of beating the odds, it's him."

* * *

Please review and let me know what you think. And Happy Easter.


	44. Battle Beyond Hope

**Author's Note:** I think the title of this chapter might be the same as a chapter of the _Yu-Gi-Oh!_ manga. It's an appropriate title though I think. I'm sure that it's obvious how the battle in this chapter is going to end. But it is necessary.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 43: Battle Beyond Hope

Chili took his place up on stage as the second and final battle of the semifinal round was about to begin. Bianca was already on stage waiting for him. She stared back at Chili with an angry glare, the same angry glare she had been giving Misty and everyone else since the start of the tournament. The audience was completely silent in anticipation of the battle, for they could tell it was probably going to be an epic clash. Ash and Misty meanwhile waited down on the sidelines with baited breath along side Rio. The two didn't know what sort of strategy Chili had in mind to beat Thudurus, but they were praying that it worked.

"I have to say Bianca, I'm actually kinda excited to be facing you in this round." Chili admitted. "You sure have gotten a lot stronger since Nimbasa City."

"Don't patronize me." Bianca scoffed. "I know you think I'm weak, just like Misty and Ash do. Even though I have Thundurus. You probably all think I got lucky in my battle with Misty since I caught her off guard."

"Believe me, none of us think you're weak." Chili assured her. "And I'm going to be taking out battle very seriously."

"This match will be a two-on-two Pokemon battle!" the referee announced. "Both challengers may switch Pokemon during the battle! Begin!"

"Go Thudurus!" Bianca called as she threw out a Pokeball. The deity of thunder emerged and floated before Chili above the battlefield.

"Let's go Pignite!" Chili called as he threw his own ball. The fighting pig of fire burst out of his ball onto the field.

"Chili is actually using Pignite?" a surprised Misty asked. "But Pignite is at a huge disadvantage because Thundurus is a Flying-type."

"He must have a plan." Ash assured her.

"Now I'm sure you're not taking me seriously." Bianca told Chili. "You know I have Thundurus, but you still think I'm too weak to handle him. That's why you're using such a weak Pokemon."

"Trust me. I know there's a good chance Pignite and I might lose this battle. But we're both going to be using all we've got to take you down." Chili assured her. "Pignite, use Stone Edge!"

"Dodge and use Thunder Bolt!" Bianca commanded.

Pignite cried out as two rings of sharpened stones began to orbit around him. With a flex of his muscles, the fire pig shot the stone projectiles up at Thundurus. Thundurus dodged the stones and shot a blot of blue lightning down at Pignite. The fire pig was struck but somehow remained standing.

"Hang in there, Pignite!" Chili called. "Use Stone Edge again!"

Upon recovering from the last attack, Pignite cried out again as two new rings of stones began to orbit around him. With another flex of his muscles he shot the sharp rocks up at Thundurus again. This time the barrage of stones hit their target and seemed to cause the thunder deity a good amount of damage.

"Is Chili's only strategy to use Stone Edge again and again?" Misty wondered.

"It seems to be working." Ash pointed out. "That second Stone Edge seemed to hit Thundurus pretty badly."

"Plus as you said before Misty, Thundurus is also a Flying-type." Rio pointed out. "Legendary or not, a powerful Rock-type attack like Stone Edge will take its toll if used repeatedly. He might have an actual chance of winning."

"I thought you were rooting for Chili to lose." Misty recalled.

"I can still be impressed by him though, can't I?" Rio pointed out. "After all, I expect my arch nemesis to be powerful."

"Use Nasty Plot and Thunder Bolt!" Bianca commanded.

"Dodge and use Stone Edge again!" Chili ordered.

Thundurus' eyes glowed red as he glowed briefly with a black aura. He then raised his arms forward and shot a powerful bolt of lightning from his palms down at Pignite. The fire pig rolled out of the way of the attack and shot another barrage of sharpened rocks at the thunder deity. Thundurus was struck again and took another bad hit.

"Chili might really actually have a shot at this." Ash told Misty and Rio. "It probably all depends on if Pignite can last out long enough to do enough damage."

"I've had enough of this!" Bianca yelled with a stomp of her foot. "Thundurus, end Pignite with Focus Blast!"

Thudurus raised his arms and threw a ball of blue-green energy down at Pignite with both hands. Pignite was struck and fell to the ground face first after staggering for a moment.

"Pignite is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the first round goes to Bianca and Thundurus!"

"I can't believe you thought you could take Thundurus and I out with that kind of strategy." Bianca told Chili as he called back the fallen Pignite. "Looks like your little plan failed."

"Actually, I'm surprised Pignite lasted this long." Chili admitted. "Course I knew he had it in him. But if you think my strategy was to use Pignite alone, than you've got another thing coming. Go Darmanitan!" The fire ape emerged from his ball onto the field.

"Use Thunder Bolt again!" Bianca commanded.

The thunder deity shot down another bolt of lightning at Darmanitan. The instant the fire ape was struck he glowed pink and changed into his blue statue form.

"So the second part of Chili strategy was to use Darmanitian's Zen Mode?" Misty wondered.

"Well, Darmanitan does have stronger defense in Zen Mode." Ash noted. "With all the damage Thundurus took from his battle with Pignite, Darmanitan might be able to last just long enough to beat him."

"Okay Darmanitian, use Psychic!" Chili commanded.

Darmanitan's eyes glowed and in an instant Thundurus began to shine with a blue aura. The thunder deity was soon flung to the ground hard by Darmanitan's mind, thrown back up into the air and slammed down into the ground again. When the attack ended, Thundurus hovered back into the air and glared down at Darmanitan while he caught his breath.

"Looks like Thundurus is running outta steam." Ash observed. "This might just be it."

"Fight back with Focus Blast!" a frustrated Bianca commanded.

Equally enraged, Thundurus threw another ball of blue-green light down at Darmanitan. The ball impacted, but when the smoke cleared Darmanitian was still conscious.

"That was a sloppy move. When Darmanitan is in Zen Mode he becomes a Psychic-type." Chili reminded her. "Which means a Fighting-type attack like Focus Blast doesn't do as much damage. Darmanitan! End this with Flamethrower!"

The fire statue shot a powerful stream of flames from his forehead up at Thundurus, striking him in the chest. When it was over, Thundurus crashed down to the ground unconscious.

"Thundurus is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the second round goes to Chili and Darmanitan!"

The crowed roared with cheers of amazement as Bianca called back the fallen Thundurus. Pikachu and Lucario joined the cheering crowd down on the sidelines.

"Chili actually did it!" Misty declared excitedly. "He actually took down Thundurus!"

"Now all he has to do is just last out against Bianca's last Pokemon and he'll win it!" Ash realized.

"You and Thundurus did pretty well. But it looks like my Pokemon and I were still able to take you down." Chili told Bianca confidently. "And now that I've taken down your strongest Pokemon, Darmanitan and I have this match in…"

"Go Tornadus!" Bianca called, cutting Chili off.

The deity of wind flew out of his Pokeball over the battlefield. The entire stadium went silent with complete and utter shock.

"No way…" a stunned Chili spoke. "You have both… Thundurus… _and_ Tornadus?"

"Hurricane!" Bianca commanded.

Tornadus began to swiftly whip his tail around, causing powerful winds to pick up inside the arena. Everyone in the audience was clinging tightly to their chairs out of fear of getting blown away themselves. Down on the sidelines Ash held on tightly to Pikachu so that the little electric rodent wouldn't be blown into the wall. On stage Chili was doing his best to keep the intense windstorm from knocking him down. Then at last Darmanitan was blown off the stage and into the wall behind Chili. With that, the storm finally subsided.

"…Uh, Darmanitan is unable to battle!" the referee declared after getting over his own state of shock. "Victory in the match goes to Bianca and Tornadus!"

With the battle over, Bianca called back Tornadus and walked off stage with a cold expression. A still completely stunned Chili fell to his knees.

* * *

Ash, Misty, Rio, and a defeated Chili walked their way back to the Pokemon Center. The sun began to set over the horizon as the second day of the Pokemon World Tournament came to its end.

"How could I not see it coming?" Chili wondered.

"Chili, we didn't even see Bianca having Thundurus coming." Ash reminded him. "I guess when it comes down to it we've all be underestimating Bianca from the beginning."

"That girl needs to be taken down!" Rio declared. "She can't get away with defeating Chili that way!"

"Why are you so mad that Chili lost?" Misty asked. "I thought you were rooting for him to lose."

"But not to be crushed in such a brutal way." Rio explained with her arms crossed. "I'm the only one who's allowed to beat him like that."

"You really are strange, you know that?" Misty told her. "Anyway, Ash how're you going to beat Bianca if she has both Tornadus and Thundurus?"

"I don't know yet." Ash replied as they reached the Pokemon Center. "But I do have an idea."

"Whatever strategy you have, it won't work!" a familiar voice declared. Ash and the others looked to see Bianca standing in front of the doors to the Pokemon Center with her arms crossed.

"What do you want Bianca?" Ash demanded to know.

"I was just on my way out of the Pokemon Center after having Thundurus treated." Bianca explained. "And I might as well tell you now that whatever strategy you have won't work."

"You shouldn't be so confident just because you have Tornadus and Thundurus." Ash told her.

"But I don't have just them." Bianca revealed as she threw out a Pokeball. "Go Landorus!"

The deity of the land emerged from his thrown ball, surprising Ash and the others. Ash got out his Pokedex to try and find out more about the last member of the Kami Trio.

"Landorus, the Abundance Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "In hand with the powers of Thunder and Wind, Landorus gains energy to provide soil with extra nutrients. Because the fields visited by Landorus are granted with such bountiful crops, it is hailed by many as the Guardian of the Fields."

"You have all three members of the Kami Trio?" a shocked Chili realized. "How is that even possible?"

"Shocked that a weak little girl like me was able to catch such powerful Pokemon?" Bianca asked with a glare. "Guess I'm not as weak as you all thought, huh?"

"No one's doubting that you're strong Bianca. But you shouldn't get overconfident!" Ash pointed out as he threw out his own Pokeball. "Go Ho-Oh!"

Ash's great phoenix soared out of its ball and landed on the ground behind Ash and the others. Ho-Oh and Landorus both glared at one another intensely.

"So that's it? You think you can beat me just because you have Ho-Oh?" Bianca scoffed. "Now who's being overconfident?"

"I'm only saying that it's not going to be an easy battle." Ash pointed out. "I don't know how you were able to catch Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus. But Legendary Pokemon alone don't make a trainer strong. And when two trainers who have Legendary Pokemon battle, it's anyone's game."

"Fine then." Bianca replied as she called back Landorus. "We'll decide this tomorrow in the final battle of the tournament."

With that Bianca stormed off with a cold yet angry expression. Ash called back Ho-Oh once Bianca was out of sight.

"Now what're you going to do Ash?" Chili asked. "Bianca has all three members of the Kami Trio on her team."

"As much as I hate to agreed with anything Chili says, he does have a point. The word is that the final battle of the tournament is going to be a six-on-six match." Rio revealed. "Which means you'll not only be up against all three of those titans, but three other Pokemon that I'm sure will be almost as strong. How do you plan to overcome such a force?"

"You guys go ahead and get some rest. I've got some serious training to do before tomorrow." Ash told them as he headed into the Pokemon Center.

"But Ash, what do you plan to do?" a worried Misty asked.

"For starters, I'm going to get my secret weapon from Porfessor Juniper." Ash replied at the door. "She and Gary should be done studying it by now."

* * *

Bianca stared down upon the town from atop a hill. She was trying to calm herself after her encounter with Ash. It infuriated her that Ash still seemed to think she was weak. But she was soon going to prove him wrong.

"That boy did have a point, Bianca dear. That was a little overconfident showing him you had Landorus along with Thundurus and Tornadus." A familiar voice pointed out. Bianca turned to see Miyamoto standing with Jessie, James, and Persian. "But on the other hand, this can work to you advantage too."

"What're all you guys doing here?" Bianca asked.

"We came to give you a little present." Miyamoto explained as she walked up.

From behind her back, Miyamoto pulled out the mirror they found at the Abundant Shrine after Bianca had caught Landorus. Confused, Bianca took the ornate mirror in hand.

"I don't get it. Why are giving me this mirror?" Bianca asked.

"James and Persian finished studying it." Jessie explained. "It turns out that mirror is actually a pretty useful tool for unlocking the Kami Trio's full power."

"According to our research, each member of the trio has another form." James revealed. "These were the forms they took in ancient times."

"But what does the mirror have to do with it?" Bianca asked.

"The mirror is called the Reveal Glass, and it allows one to switch the trio to their other forms and back." Persian explained. "All that's needed is to read the incantations written on the back of the mirror."

"Persian managed to translate the text and wrote them down here." Miyamoto added as she handed Bianca a large vanilla envelope. "The first one changes the trio to their other forms and the second one changes them back. Go ahead, try it out."

Bianca opened the envelope and read the first incantation. Afterwards, she threw the Pokeballs of her Legendary Pokemon to send them out. The three deities hovered before Bianca and Miyamoto's gang as Bianca held up the mirror to them and began to chant the first spell.

_"Shed now the forms of man to take the form of beast._

_Reveal the forms of ancient times._

_Primal powers, now be unleashed!"_

With the spell complete a red beam of light shot out of the mirror at the Kami Trio. The legendary deities of thunder, land, and wind all began to glow with a red light and change shape. When the light finally faded, Thundurus, Landorus, and Tornadus had all taken more animalistic forms. Bianca looked up at the three at all.

"I have a feeling that Ketchum boy won't know what hit him." Miyamoto smirked.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yep, the Reveal Glass has activation spells in this AU. I kinda felt that it needed them for some reason. It was actually a little hard coming up with the incantations (the second one will be seen later in the story), since poetry isn't really my thing. Anyway, the epic clash between Ash and Bianca begins next chapter. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	45. Proof of Strength

**Author's Note:** I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who reviewed or sent a PM about the last chapter. A lot of the response I got had suggestions or theories about how Ash was going to defeat Bianca and the Kami Trio. It seems (and I noticed this back in the chapter where Bianca caught Thundurus) that many of you reading seem to have forgotten about another Pokemon Ash captured earlier in the story. That's okay though, I probably should've done a better job of reminding everyone about it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 44: Proof of Strength

The morning sun hung high in the sky as Ash headed back to the Pokemon Center with Pikachu and Lucario. It had been a long night of training but Ash had to push himself if he had any chance of defeating Bianca in the final round of the tournament. He only hoped that the strategy he came up with to fight the members of the Kami Trio paid off. As Ash neared the doors of the Pokemon Center, he and his two companions saw standing in front of them a familiar-looking man with brown hair and a dark-blue suit. He had slimmed down quite a great deal since Ash saw him last, but he recognized right away who it was.

"Mr. Edmonds?" Ash greeted, recognizing the man as Bianca's father.

"Hello." Mr. Edmonds greeted back with a somewhat worried smile. "I bet you didn't expect to see me here."

"Not really." Ash replied. "In fact I almost didn't recognize you."

"Yes, my concern about Bianca has had quite an effect on me." Mr. Edmonds explained. "Anyway, I was hoping I could have a talk with you."

"You've heard that Bianca has made it to the final battle of the World Tournament." Ash deduced.

"A friend of mine at work told me that his son saw Bianca battle on T.V." Mr. Edmonds confirmed. "I could hardly believe it when I found out."

"What, that Bianca was strong enough to make it to the final round of such a big tournament?" Ash asked. "She's a lot stronger than you think Mr. Edmonds, stronger than we all thought. But the problem is she's being driven by her own anger and frustration."

"I suppose that's mainly my fault." Mr. Edmonds sighed. "Maybe Bianca's masked friend from Nimbasa City was right. Maybe I just haven't been able to see how much Bianca has grown. Ever since Bianca's mother died after she was born I've been afraid to lose her. But I guess I already have, haven't I?"

"What is it that you want from me?" Ash asked.

"I want you to try and reason with Bianca." Mr. Edmonds told him.

"She's a little beyond reasoning with right now." Ash pointed out. "But I'll do my best. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a battle to get to in a few minutes."

"Yes of course. I won't keep you any longer then." Mr. Edmonds replied as he stepped away from the doors. Ash nodded to him before going inside.

* * *

Misty, Chili, and Rio all waited down by the stadium stage as they waited for the final battle of the tournament to start. Already the seats of the arena were filled with fans eagerly waiting to see Ash and Bianca's battle.

"I hope whatever strategy Ash has works." A somewhat worried Misty told the others.

"I'm sure he's got a good plan." Chili assured her.

"You shouldn't be so worried." A familiar and somewhat rude voice cut in. Misty and the others looked and saw that it was Trip leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "Ketchum will win no problem."

"What're you doing here Trip?" a surprised Misty asked.

"I heard that girl Bianca had both Tornadus and Thundurus when I was at the Pokemon Center and thought I'd come see it for myself." Trip explained. "Anyway, there's no need to worry about Ketchum. When it comes right down to it, Ketchum has a greater skill level than Bianca does. He's sure to win."

"That's unexpected coming from you." Chili observed. "You've always put both Ash and Misty down because they were from Kanto."

"Yeah well… I'm entitled to change my mind, aren't I?" Trip replied as he looked away a bit.

"It seems that you've grown a little bit as a trainer, Trip." Another familiar voice observed, causing the group to looked and see that it was Professor Juniper. Mr. Edmonds was there with her.

"I guess I don't have to ask why you're here Mr. Edmonds. But why have you come Professor Juniper?" Misty inquired.

"Gary called me from the lab and told me Ash asked for that interesting Pokemon he caught awhile ago to use in the tournament." Professor Juniper explained. "I was in the area when I heard, so I thought I'd come see the battle for myself. I just happened to run into Bianca's father on the way. Just what is this problem all of you are having with Bianca."

"Well for one thing, that girl has all three members of the legendary Kami Trio." Rio revealed.

"Wait, all three?" a surprised Trip asked.

"She showed us Landorus last night." Rio confirmed. "That girl has become quite a problem."

"Hello everyone!" Alder greeted up on stage, interrupting the conversation on the sidelines. "Well, I see everyone has turned out for this exciting event. So let's get this show on the road. Presenting the final battle of the Pokemon World Tournament, Ash Ketchum vs. Bianca Edmonds!"

Ash and Bianca walked up onto the stage and stood facing one another from across the field. Bianca looked back at Ash with her same angry glare. Ash meanwhile remained calm. At last the referee took his place up on stage.

"This match will be a six-on-six Pokemon battle!" the referee announced. "During battle both challengers may switch Pokemon. Begin!"

"I'm going to crush you!" Bianca declared.

"You can try." Ash replied. Suddenly a Pokemon burst out of one of the balls on Bainca's belt.

"Wobbuffet!" the blue blob cried after appearing on the field.

"Pika?" a surprised Pikachu responded in recognition.

"Wait… that Wobbuffet." An equally surprised Ash began to realize. "Bianca, where did you…?"

"She got it in a trade, Twerp." A very familiar voice answered before Ash could finish his question. "Rather appropriate, since that was how I ended up with Wobbuffet in the first place."

Ash looked down off of the stage and saw Jessie, James, Persian, and Miyamoto standing near the spot where Misty and the others were watching. Bianca's old Minccino was perched on Jessie's shoulder.

"You four are involved in this?" Ash asked, almost shouting.

"By a sort of happy accident you might say." Jessie confirmed. "We ran across Bianca not long after she encountered Thundurus. After that, we ended up helping Bianca in her quest to capture the Kami Trio. It turned out that Wobbuffet was the perfect weapon to keep Tornadus and Thundurus from just flying off. So I decided to trade him to her in exchange for her darling little Minccino here."

"We also helped Bianca find out how to summon Landorus." Persian added. "Miyamoto even helped to train Bianca in the process."

"It's bad enough that Bianca was corrupted by Noir Mask! The last thing we need is you four making things worse!" Misty told them.

"Now see here twerp! Don't talk to us like we're some sort of bad influence!" Jessie shot back.

"Now, now, dear. She does have a point. We're not exactly angels you know." Miyamoto reminded her.

"I don't understand. How is it that you people know my Bianca?" Mr. Edmonds asked.

"You must be Bianca's father." Miyamoto quickly realized. "We've heard so much about you. Nothing good though I'm afraid. Anyway, we've sort of been Bianca's mentors."

"Like she could learn anything good from you guys!" Ash shot down.

"Enough!" Bianca yelled with a stomp of her foot. "Ash, send out your first Pokemon now!"

"Fine. Go Golurk!" Ash called as he finally threw out his first ball. The nine-foot colossus burst out if its ball. "Use Shadow Punch!"

With a thrust of its fist, Golurk sent out a massive shadowy punch that struck Wobbuffet. The blob Pokemon did not budge though and remanded standing in the exact same spot.

"Hang in there, Wobbuffet!" Bianca called.

"Use Shadow Punch again!" Ash commanded.

Golurk hit the blob with another shadowy fist that hit Wobbuffet's entire front side. Just as before though, the blue blob remained standing.

"Wobbuffet has to have taken a lot of damage from those last two attacks." Chili observed. "Why isn't Bianca doing anything to counter them?"

"At this rate, Wobbuffet is going to lose the battle." Rio added.

"Oh no, I can assure you children that Wobbuffet will not lose." Miyamoto told them with a sly grin.

"Shadow Punch one more time!" Ash commanded.

"Now Wobbuffet! Use Destiny Bond!" Bianca ordered.

"What?" Ash exclaimed.

Golurk struck the blue blob with one last punch, causing him to fall down onto his side. But right after Golurk's attack, the ghostly robot suddenly glowed briefly with a faint red aura and suddenly collapsed.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" the referee declared. "The first round is a draw!"

"A draw?" a surprised Rio repeated.

"I told you that Wobbuffet wasn't going to lose. I just didn't say he would win." Miyamoto pointed out.

"Sorry Wobbuffet." Bianca told the fallen blob as both she and Ash called back their respective Pokemon. She then got out her next ball. "Go Jellicent!"

"Go Serperior!" Ash responded with his own throw. The pink jellyfish and the grass serpent emerged onto their respective sides of the battlefield.

"Use Ice Beam!" Bianca commanded.

"Dodge and use Leaf Storm!" Ash ordered.

Jellicent fired a crackling beam of white energy towards Serperior. The serpent quickly moved her head to the side and avoided the attack. Serperior the whipped up a leaf-filled twister and sent it at Jellicent. The ghostly jellyfish was banged around in the twister but remained floating after it passed.

"Fight back with Shadow Ball!" Bianca ordered.

"Use Leaf Storm again!" Ash commanded.

Jellicent threw a ball of crackling black energy with her right arm tentacle, hitting Serperior in the face. Serperior quickly recovered and sent forth another leaf twister at Jellicent. The jellyfish Pokemon was knocked around again by the passing twister and was almost flung to the ground.

"It's happening again. Serperior's Leaf Storm attack hit with more damage than before, just like in Ash's battle with Trip." Rio observed.

"But you said that the opposite should be happening, right?" Misty recalled.

"That's right." Rio confirmed. "It just doesn't make any sense."

"It's perfectly obvious what's going on." Trip cut in. "The reason Leaf Storm keeps getting stronger each time it's used is because the ability of Ketchum's Serperior is Contrary."

"Contrary?" Chili repeated.

"It's an ability that reverses the normal changes in power an attack would do to a Pokemon." Trip explained. "In other words, an attack that would normally raise a Pokemon's speed would cause it to drop. And in the case of Ketchum's Serperior, the drop in attack power normally caused by Leaf Storm increases it instead."

"Which means Serperior will get more powerful each time she uses Leaf Storm." Misty quickly realized.

"One more time Serperior!" Ash commanded. "Leaf Storm!"

"Use Ice Beam!" Bianca ordered.

Jellicent hit Serperior in her midsection with another crackling beam of white light, causing ice to form. The attack ended, and with a twist of her body Serperior brke the ice off. She then sent another twister of leaves at Jellicent. The ghostly jellyfish was knocked to the ground unconscious.

"Jellicent is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the second round goes to Ash and Serperior!"

As Bianca called back her fallen Pokemon, Serperior looked back at Lucario with a predatory grin. She gave him a seductive wink, causing the blue jackal Pokemon to go wide-eyed and blush.

"Go Emboar!" Bianca called out as she threw her next ball. The boar Pokemon burst onto the field with a thud. "Use Heat Crash!"

Emboar leapt up high into the air and became enveloped in a red-hot ball of flames. Before Serperior could slither out of the way, the massive fireball crashed down on top of her. The flames quickly died and Emboar got off of the fallen serpent. A shocked and worried Lucario rushed over to Serperior's side. He kneeled down and gently held up her head.

"Ser… per…" she said with a smile before passing out.

"Serperior is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the third round goes to Bianca and Emboar!"

Ash called Serperior back to her ball as Lucario stood back up and looked over at Emboar. The jackal Pokemon bared his fangs and growled.

"Okay Lucario, let's do it!" Ash commanded. "Bone Rush!"

A blue light formed in the palm of the enraged jackal's palm and changed into a metal bone. With his weapon in hand, Lucario cried out as he relentlessly began to whack Emboar in the face.

"Whoa! I don't think I've ever seen Lucario fight with such fury before." A somewhat shocked Chili observed.

"I guess he really didn't like seeing Serperior get beaten like that." Misty assumed.

"I thought Lucario was unsettled by Serperior's advances." Rio pointed out.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean Lucario might not have feelings for her." Misty shrugged. "I mean love's complicated, right?"

"Fight back with Arm Thrust!" Bianca commanded.

As soon as Lucario's attack ended, the fire boar immediately fought back by pummeling Lucario with a series of powerful punches. Once Emboar's attack ended, both Pokemon stood panting, glaring at one another.

"Use Bone Rush one more time!" Ash commanded.

With his bone still in hand, Lucario began to repeatedly strike Emboar in the face once more. When the attack was over, Emboar stood with a dazed expression on his face.

"Finish with Bullet Punch!" Ash ordered.

The bone in Lucario's paw vanished just before he delivered a white glowing punch right to Emboar's snout. The fire boar staggered back a few steps before crashing to the ground with a thud.

"Emboar is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the fourth round goes to Ash and Lucario!"

"Ash has just taken down three of Bianca's Pokemon." Chili observed.

"Yeah, but the real battle's about to start." Misty pointed out. "He still has the Kami Trio to deal with."

"You may be ahead in this battle now, but you're about to crash." Bianca declared as she called back Emboar. "Then I'll prove to everyone just how strong I am."

"Are you really trying to prove your strength to the world Bianca, or are you trying to prove it to yourself?" Ash asked. "You've shown everyone, me, Misty, Chili, and all the people in this tournament how strong you are and it isn't enough. When are you going to be satisfied Bianca?"

"I'll be satisfied when I win this tournament!" Bianca declared. "Then everyone will have to admit how strong I am. You don't know what it's like to have everyone think you're weak. When I was younger I'd hear all the kids making fun of me behind my back. They all thought it was funny that my dad wouldn't let me become a trainer when I was ten. They even called me a baby."

"Bianca, I had no idea…" Mr. Edmonds began to call up.

"What? That you ruined my life?" Bianca shot back before he could finish. "It started to get worse after you finally let me start my journey! Everyone couldn't believe that a sixteen-year-old girl was just starting out as a trainer. They all thought I was a joke! Well not anymore!"

"So you're just going to hold onto all that anger?" Ash asked.

"This anger is what's gotten me this far." Bianca replied. "Back at Nimbasa City it was Noir Mask who taught me how to use all the anger I've been holding in to become stronger."

"That kind of strength doesn't prove anything Bianca." Ash told her. "It won't lead to anything but destruction."

"Shut up! You don't know anything!" Bianca snapped with a stomp of her foot. "I'm going to prove how strong I am! Go Tornadus!"

The deity of wind flew out of his thrown Pokeball into the air. But right away Ash and the others all saw that Tornadus had gone through a drastic transformation. His head was still more or less the same but without ears, and his two horns had grown longer and had angled back. But the most startling change was in Tornadus' body. His body had become like that of a great green bird. His arms had become wings and he had legs with purple talons. The only remnant of the white cloud that once made up Tornadus' lower body was around the base of its tail.

"What the heck? Tornadus has completely transformed!" a shocked Chili exclaimed.

"He didn't evolve, did he?" Misty wondered. Jessie and Miyamoto's shrill laughter suddenly cut the air.

"Tornadus didn't evolve. He's just been changed to his Therian Form." Jessie explained.

"Therian Form?" Rio repeated. "What on earth is that?"

"In ancient times, the Kami Trio took on completely different forms than the ones we know today." Miyamoto explained. "These forms were of those of powerful beasts."

"Wait, I think my father mentioned something to me about this once." Professor Juniper recalled. "Just how did you change Tornadus' form?"

"At the shrine where Bianca captured Landorus we found an old mirror called the Reveal Glass." James explained. "We figured out that it has the power to switch the members of the Kami Trio between their two forms."

"The Reveal Glass…" Professor Juniper repeated to herself as she held her chin.

"What's wrong Professor?" Misty asked.

"It's probably nothing." She replied. "But there is something about the Reveal Glass that my father told me about once. I just can't remember what it is."

"Lucario, use Ice Punch on Tornadus!" Ash commanded.

"Attack with Focus Blast!" Bianca ordered.

Before Lucario could make a move, a ball of blue-green light formed at the end of his tail and was flung down at the jackal Pokemon. Lucario was still standing but had taken a good deal of damage. Upon recovering, Lucario leapt up into the air with a raised fist covered in an icy mist. The jackal Pokemon struck Tornadus in the chest, causing a patch of ice to form. But the bird of wind flexed and shattered the ice off of his body.

"Finish it with Hurricane!" Bianca commanded.

Tornadus flapped his wings and soon a powerful wind picked up. The people in the audience clung to their seats out of fear of being blown away. Lucario was blown off the field and flung into the wall behind Ash. The wind died down and Lucario fell to the floor unconscious.

"Lucario is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the fifth round goes to Bianca and Tornadus!"

Lucario quickly woke back up and staggered over to Ash's side. The beat-up jackal fell to one knee upon reaching his destination.

"You okay buddy?" a concerned Ash asked. Lucario gave his human partner a reassuring smirk. "Okay then. Pikachu, get in there!"

"Pika!" the electric rodent enthusiastically replied as he ran onto the battlefield.

"You really think a small Pokemon like that can beat a Legendary Pokemon like Tornadus?" Bianca scoffed.

"Just catching a Legendary Pokemon doesn't prove how strong a trainer is." Ash told her.

"I don't care what you think!" Bianca shot back. "Tornadus, use Dark Pulse!"

"Dodge and use Thunder Bolt!" Ash commanded.

"Tornadus flapped his wings and rained down a barrage of dark energy rings down at Pikachu. The electric rodent weaved between where the rings hit before jumping up and hitting Tornadus with a powerful electrical shock. Tornadus cried out as he was electrocuted but quickly recovered after the attack ended.

"Hurricane!" Bianca commanded.

Tornadus flapped his wings again and created another powerful storm. Pikachu did his best to hold his ground but was soon flung back into the wall behind Ash. The wind soon died down and Pikachu slid down the side of the wall out cold.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the sixth round goes to Bianca and Tornadus!"

Ash ran over to where Pikachu fell and picked up the little rodent in his arms. Pikachu quickly woke up and gave Ash a weak smile.

"What was that you were saying about Legendary Pokemon alone not making a trainer strong?" Bianca scoffed as Ash walked back up on stage.

"Okay, I'll admit that Tornadus' Therian form is pretty strong." Ash replied. "But he's not unbeatable. Still, I guess it's time I brought out my secret weapon."

"So now you're bringing out Ho-Oh?" Bianca asked.

"Go… Deoxys!" Ash called as he threw his fifth Pokeball of the match. The extraterrestrial Pokemon burst out of the ball and flew up to face Tornadus.

"Where on earth did the twerp get that Pokemon?" a shocked James asked.

"Obviously not on earth." Persian replied.

"Of course, the Deoxys that Ash caught at that hot spring in Cropville!" Misty realized.

"The one that those Elgyem were hiding!" Chili quickly recalled.

"Bianca, this just became a whole new match!" Ash declared.

* * *

**Author's Note:** You all forgot about Ash's Deoxys, didn't you? Again, that's okay. Like I said earlier, I should've done a better job of reminding everyone that Ash had captured a Deoxys. If you still don't remember, go back and take a quick look at the _Watch the Skies_ chapter.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	46. Priestess of the Kami Trio

**Author's Note:** Now we come to the epic conclusion to the Bianca Arc. There's going to be some major foreshadowing in this chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 45: Priestess of the Kami Trio

The battle between Ash and Bianca had taken a startling turn in Ash's favor. In the previous rounds of the match four of Ash's Pokemon fell and he was left up against Tornadus in his Therian Form. But Ash had surprised everyone by sending out the legendary Deoxys, the extraterrestrial Pokemon that he had caught months before. Everyone in the audience was silent with awe as they witnessed the two legendary titans floated before one another above the battlefield. A whole new battle was about to begin.

"This certainly does change the whole battle." Chili observed. "But then Ash has never used Deoxys in battle before. I hope he knows how to handle it."

"Don't worry, Ash has trained with someone who had a Deoxys before." Misty assured him.

"Oh, you mean that friend of yours from the Hoenn Region." Chili recalled. "May, wasn't it?"

"I wouldn't call May my friend, but yeah." Misty confirmed. "It's a long story, but May ended up befriending a Deoxys when she was real little and it ended up as her Pokemon."

"That weird Pokemon of yours doesn't scare me!" Bianca declared up on stage. "Tornadus, attack with Dark Pulse!"

"Speed Form and Extremespeed!" Ash commanded.

In seconds Deoxys' body morphed and became mostly black. The ear-like growths on the sides of its head became fins and from the back of its head grew a long fin with a blue stripe on both sides. Two of the tentacles that Deoxys had for arms vanished, leaving only a blue tentacle on the right side of its body and a red one on its left. Just as Tornadus fired another barrage of black energy rings, the space Pokemon zoomed out of the attack's path and slashed the wind deity across the chest with its left tentacle.

"Now, Attack Form and Ice Beam!" Ash ordered.

Deoxys quickly morphed to attack mode and fired a crackling white beam from the stripe on its face that seemed to serve as a nose. Tornadus was hit in the chest and completely encased in ice. Upon crashing to the ground, the ice shattered and Tornadus was out cold.

"Tornadus is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the seventh round goes to Ash and Deoxys!"

"Impressive." Rio commented on the sidelines. "Deoxys felled Tornadus in just two moves."

"True. But keep in mind that Tornadus already took some damage from Pikachu and Lucario." Trip pointed out. "The other two members of the Kami might not be so easy to bring down. Especially in these new forms of theirs."

"Lucky shot." Bianca scoffed as she called back Tornadus. "Go Thundurus!"

The thunder deity flew out of his ball in a completely new form that was like that of a dragon. His azure lower half had two short reptilian legs and his face had gained a snout. His hands had become claws shrouded in small white clouds.

"Use Dark Pulse!" Bianca commanded.

"Defense Form and Calm Mind!" Ash ordered.

Thundurus opened his mouth and shoot at Deoxys with a storm of black rings. The alien Pokemon's body changed shape again. The black portions of its body became completely red and its frame became bulkier. Its head and torso became fused and its head lost its spikes. Its four tentacles became wide and flat almost like paddles. The thunder dragon's attack of black rings impacted on the left side of Deoxys' chest near the orb and did some damage. But the wound regenerated in a matter of seconds. In the same instant, Deoxys' eyes glowed with an eerie pink light.

"Okay Deoxys! Attack Form and Ice Beam again!" Ash commanded.

"Dodge and use Thunder Bolt!" Bianca ordered.

The alien Pokemon shifted back into its offensive shape and blasted at Thudurus with another crackling white beam. The thunder dragon barely managed to dodge the attack and zapped Deoxys with a blast of blue lightning. Deoxys crackled with blue electricity for a moment after the attack ended.

"Use Dark Pulse again!" Bianca commanded.

"Speed Form and Psycho Boost!" Ash commanded.

Thundurus fired another barrage of rings at Deoxys as it transformed, hitting it in the left side and blowing off its tentacles. But the alien quickly regenerated and finished its transformation. Deoxys zoomed in and blasted Thudurus with a large ball of multicolored light. The thunder dragon was hit and almost knocked out of the air.

"Deoxys' response time was off." Trip observed. "It didn't transform as fast as before. I think that Thunder Bolt attack might've paralyzed it."

"Well at least it was able to re-grow the parts of its body that were blown off by Dark Pulse." Chili pointed out.

"True, but from studying Deoxys Gary and I found that it expends a certain amount of energy when it regenerates." Professor Juniper pointed out. "Sooner or later its stamina might run out."

"She's right." Misty confirmed. "Plus Deoxys was still in attack mode when it took that last hit from Dark Pulse, so it did a lot of damage."

"Attack Form and Ice Beam again!" Ash commanded.

Deoxys morphed again and struck Thundurus in the chest with another white beam, encasing the dragon's torso in ice. The dragon crashed out of the air, shattering the ice and knocking him out cold.

"Thundurus is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the eighth round goes to Ash and Deoxys!"

"Not as easy as you thought it'd be, huh Bianca?" Ash pointed out as she called back Thundurus.

"You may have beaten Tornadus and Thundurus with that weird Pokemon of yours, but you don't stand a chance in this battle!" Bianca declared as she threw out her last Pokeball. "Go Landorus!"

The guardian of the fields rushed out of his ball in a completely new form. This form was similar to that of a tiger with white clouds around its ankles.

"Let's end this quick Deoxys!" Ash called. "Ice Beam!"

"Use Sandstorm!" Bianca commanded.

Before the alien Pokemon could launch its next attack, Landorus roared and suddenly a massive sandstorm picked up inside the arena. The audience members and those on the sidelines were forced to cover their eyes. Ash had no choice but to see what was going on in the battle, using Aura. In his mind's eye he could see that Deoxys' attack had missed its mark. Landorus had leapt away at the last second and came around to the alien Pokemon's left side in the air.

"Use Stone Edge!" Bianca commanded.

"Quick! Go to Speed Form and dodge!" Ash ordered.

Before Deoxys could finish morphing it was hit by a barrage of sharpened stones and fell out of the air. The sandstorm cleared and Deoxys was on the ground in its normal form unconscious.

"Deoxys is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the ninth round goes to Bianca and Landorus!"

"With that Deoxys of yours gone you only have one Pokemon left." Bianca pointed out as Ash called back the fallen alien. "Soon I'll finally prove to everyone that I'm not weak. Even you and Misty will have to admit how strong I am."

"Bianca, I never thought you were weak." Misty cut it. "I was only mean to you because… because I thought you were trying to steal Ash from me."

"You… what?" Bianca replied with a raised eyebrow. She looked from Misty to Ash and back again a few times. "…Please, Ash is way too scrawny."

"Scrawny?" Ash quietly repeated to himself with a somewhat offended expression.

"Do you really expect me to buy that story Misty?" Bianca shot back. "Why would you think I'd be interested in Ash?"

"Because you kept falling on top of Ash when you showed up and Misty misunderstood." Chili explained.

"And I completely overreacted." Misty added. "I really sorry Bianca."

"Lies! All of it!" Bianca insisted.

"Bianca, please!" Mr. Edmonds pleaded. "The reason why I didn't let you become a Pokemon Trainer when you turned ten was because I was worried you might get hurt or worse. But it wasn't because I thought you were weak. I just… I was just afraid of losing you. Ever since your mother died I've been afraid of losing you."

"You've already lost me." Bianca coldly replied. "You lost me because you wouldn't let me grow up! That surprise visit of yours to Nimbasa City when you came to drag me home… that was the last straw!"

"Mr. Edmonds, Misty, enough." Ash cut in. "There's no point in talking to Bianca right now. The only way to end this is to finish this battle."

"Then bring it on!" Bianca dared.

"Fine! Go Ho-Oh!" Ash called as he threw out his sixth and final ball. The majestic rainbow bird soared out of its ball into the air above the battlefield.

"Use Sandstorm!" Bianca commanded. Landorus roared and once again a fierce sand-filled wind picked up in the arena and made it impossible to see.

"Nice try. Ho-Oh, use Sunny Day and Solar Beam!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh shrieked and shot a golden beam of light into the air through the arena skylight. The sandstorm immediately subsided and golden rays of sunlight shined down onto the battlefield. The great bird then shot Landorus in the face with a concentrated beam of solar power from its beak.

"Use Stone Edge!" Bianca commanded.

"Dodge and use Future Sight!" Ash ordered.

Landorus roared again and shot another barrage of sharp stones up at Ho-Oh. The phoenix's eyes briefly glowed blue as it flew out of the way of the attack, knocking some of the stones away with its wing in the process.

"Sacred Fire!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh became shrouded in rose-colored flames before sending a tidal wave of fire at Landorus. The tiger of earth was hit and left with a large burn of his back.

"No!" Bianca exclaimed with a stomp of her foot.

"Landorus may be powerful Bianca, but I've had Ho-Oh a lot longer than you've had Landorus." Ash pointed out. "Ho-Oh and I have trained hard together. There's no way you can win!"

"Enough!" Bianca shouted. "Landorus, use Outrage!"

Landorus roared again as his eyes began to glow bright red and he flashed with a red aura. The earth tiger ran up into the air and began to slash at Ho-Oh with his claws. At the same time, Bianca suddenly cried out and her eyes began to glow bright red like Landorus'.

"Bianca?" a worried Mr. Edmonds called up.

"Destroy! Destroy! DESTROY!" Bianca shouted. At the same time Landorus continued to pummel Ho-Oh.

"What the heck's going on?" Rio wondered. Misty looked over to Miyamoto and her gang.

"This is all your doing! Isn't it?" Misty accused.

"Don't be absurd brat!" Jessie shot back. "We're as shocked by all this as you are."

"I bet that mirror you had Bianca use to change the Kami Trio was cursed or something!" Chili assumed.

"James and I investigated the Reveal Glass fully. We found nothing about a curse." Persian assured them.

"Wait a minute. I just remembered what my father once told me about the Reveal Glass." Professor Juniper interrupted. "In ancient times, the Reveal Glass was forged to communicate with the Kami Trio. A priestess would use the Reveal Glass to communicate with the trio by establishing a type of psychic bond. I suspect that Bianca might have inadvertently become the new priestess when she transformed the trio to their Therian Forms."

"James, Persian, did either of you know about this?" Miyamoto asked with a somewhat cross expression. James and Persian looked at each other for a moment.

"Well, uh, there were a few ancient texts that we couldn't translate." James admitted hesitantly.

"So why is my Bianca suddenly acting like that?" Mr. Edmonds demanded to know.

"Outrage." Trip answered simply. "If Bianca and Landorus really are linked, than she's probably feeling the effects of Landorus' Outrage."

"Trip might be right." Chili agreed. "Plus Bianca's been driven by rage herself lately."

Back on the battlefield, Landorus continued his relentless assault on Ho-Oh. Ash closed his eyes again and in his mind he could see the Auras of Bianca and Landorus burning with the same intensity.

_'Ash, Bianca and the Kami Trio are linked just as Professor Juniper said. But in her current state the connection is too much for her.'_ Riley's voice told Ash in his mind. _'You have to end this battle before she gets hurt.'_

"You don't have to tell me twice, Riley." Ash whispered. "Ho-Oh, fight back with Sacred Fire!"

Ho-Oh cried out as it once again became shrouded in fire. With a blast of flames from the phoenix Landorus was pushed back. The earth tiger's eyes were not burning as brightly as before but were still red, showing that Landorus was in a disoriented state.

"Wh-what's going on?" an equally confused Bianca asked. "Am I… in a battle?"

Before Ash could answer, Landorus glowed with a faint blue aura and was suddenly hurled to the ground. With the impact of the fallen land deity came a blinding flash of blue light that enveloped Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario.

* * *

_The light cleared and Ash and his two Pokemon found themselves floating in a sky thick with storm clouds. Ash looked down and saw a very familiar scene below him. It was of himself a little older standing atop a hill with Pikachu and Lucario. Ho-Oh was sitting on the same hill right behind Ash. There were other people and Pokemon there with Ash. Misty and Suicune were there of course. Along with two of Ash and Misty's friends, Lisa Flare and Bolt Hanson, and their Legendary Beasts, Entei and Raikou._

_Ash instantly recognized the scene he was looking at. It was the vision Ho-Oh had shown him not long after he had first caught the legendary phoenix. But there were more details of the vision that Ash didn't notice before. Though there were still some parts of the vision he could not make out. For one thing there was another woman standing next to Lisa. For some reason Ash could not make out her face, but he could tell that she had long blonde hair and was wearing black. There were two Pokemon with this young woman that Ash felt he recognized but for some reason he could not place them._

_But there were plenty of other individuals there that Ash could recognize. His old friend Brock was at his side, and he could see Chili down there as well with Rio. Also present were other gym leaders such as Morty from Ecruteak City and Sabrina of the Saffron City Gym. Brycen was also there on the hill, as were Elesa and Skyla. Ash could also recognize Alder and Cynthia there on that hill. Hovering above this group was a grayish-white creature with a humanoid build resembling a cat and had a purple belly and tail. Ash instantly recognized the thing as the Legendary Pokemon, Mewtwo._

_Floating in the air near Mewtwo were all three members of the Kami Trio in their Incarnate Forms. Ash and his two Pokemon looked down from the trio and saw Bianca standing directly below them. Then Ash suddenly noticed something about the scene that shocked him greatly. Many of the people in this large group of people were wearing Team Plasma uniforms. Just then two large dragons descended from the sky and hovered next to Mewtwo and the Kami Trio. One looked as if it was partially made of ice and had a man and woman riding on its back that Ash couldn't recognize. This dragon was black and had muscular arms and a tail that resembled a turbine. Riding on this dragon's shoulder was a very familiar young man with long green hair tied back in a ponytail a black and white ball cap._

_"N?" a shocked Ash immediately recognized. "What're N and Team Plasma doing here?"_

_"Pika!" Pikachu interrupted as he pointed in the direction the small army below was facing._

_Ash looked towards the beach that the hill was overlooking was filled with another army of Team Rocket members. Suddenly Ash noticed something about the Team Rocket army he had not noticed before in the vision. Their uniforms were different from those of normal Team Rocket members. The red R on the front of the shirt looked as if it was painted on with a rough brush, and their hats looked like the type of hat worn by police officers. They were also wearing vests, some were red, some were yellow, some were blue, and some were colored silver._

_In this whole large army there were two people towards the back that seemed to stand out to Ash. One was a man with blonde hair wearing glasses and a white lab coat. In his hair he had an odd blue ornament that swirled behind his head and came back around to the front. Ash did not recognize this man, but he could recognize the other individual. The person was a woman with red oddly shaped hair that Ash knew as Mars, one of the commanders of Team Galactic._

_Just then, Ash recalled the long pointed rock sticking out a few feet from the beach into the ocean with someone standing on top. It was a young man dressed mostly in black who had long red hair and a sinister smile on his face. The redhead snapped his fingers and a massive creature burst out of the ocean. It was mostly black and looked like a cross between a bird and a dragon. The feathers on the ends of its wings resembled hands, and its eyes glowed red like a demon's. Ash still felt that the Pokemon looked like the legendary bird Lugia, who was said to be Ho-Oh's counterpart. Yet Ash knew that Lugia looked much different than the Pokemon the redhead had summoned._

_The thing roared causing Ho-Oh to spread its wings and shriek in response. Just then a swarm of purple insect-like creatures flew down and unfolded themselves as they landed and joined the ranks of Team Rocket. There were at least twenty-four of them from what Ash could tell, all with red eyes and armor-like skin, and each one of them had a cannon on its back. It was then that Bianca held up the Reveal Glass, causing the Kami Trio to shift to their Therian Forms. At that point there was another blinding flash of light._

* * *

Ash and his Pokemon found that they were back on the battlefield. Landorus was on his side unconscious while a still dazed Bianca was holding her forehead.

"Landorus is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in the match goes to Ash and Ho-Oh!"

"Oh, I guess I lost." Bianca realized before calling back Landorus. "Boy… I feel… dizzy for some reason."

Suddenly Bianca staggered forward and started falling to the ground. Mr. Edmonds ran up on stage and managed to catch Bianca seconds before she fell.

* * *

Bianca awoke to find an unfamiliar white ceiling before her eyes. She turned her head to the right and saw Ash sitting in a chair by her bed. Pikachu and Lucario were there as well of course, fully recovered from their injuries.

"Hey there." Ash greeted with a warm smile. "You had us all worried there."

"Where am I?" a still drowsy Bianca asked.

"Hospital." Ash answered simply. "Don't worry, they didn't find anything wrong with you. But they do want to keep you here overnight. Do you remember what happened to you?"

"Most of it." Bianca answered as she slowly sat up. "I remember that I lost to you in that battle…. Guess I'm not as strong as I thought, huh?"

"Bianca, you're a strong trainer. The problem is you let your rage get out of control." Ash replied. "That's why you lost our battle."

"You know, I remember that during our battle that the person I was really trying to prove myself to was me." Bianca recalled. "And I think… you might've been right. I've screwed up a lot of times as a trainer. And there were a lot of people who made fun of me for it, plus all the kids that would make fun of me when I was younger. I guess maybe a part of me started to believe all the bad things they said about me."

"Look Bianca, someone very wise once told me that a lot of times the worst enemy we have is ourselves." Ash informed. "You don't need to try so hard to prove yourself. And I'm telling the truth when I say that battle we had was a tough one."

"So you, Misty, and Chili really don't think I'm weak?" Bianca asked.

"Of course not." Ash assured her. "Misty feels real bad about how she's treated you by the way."

"I still can't believe she thought I was trying to steal you away from her." Bianca recalled. "She must get jealous pretty easily."

"Actually this is the only time I can remember her getting like this." Ash replied as he scratched the back of his head. Pikachu rolled his eyes at that remark. "Anyway, she wants to make it up to you."

"I'd like to have a talk with her." Bianca agreed. "And my dad too."

* * *

All who had watched Ash and Bianca's battle from the side of the stage were waiting in the hallway outside the door to Bianca's hospital room. Miyamoto stood against the wall next to Mr. Edmonds.

"Hey um, sorry about giving your daughter a mirror that drove her temporarily insane." Miyamoto told Mr. Edmonds. "My son-in-law can be a bit of an idiot sometimes."

"It's okay, it's not like anyone could've anticipated any of this happening." Mr. Edmonds replied. "If anything, I'm the one who's to blame for all this. If I hadn't been so overprotective of Bianca she wouldn't have tried to hard to prove herself."

"You didn't do such a bad job as a parent." Miyamoto assured him. "You were certainly better at it than me. I left my poor Jessie high and dry years ago and I'm still making up for it. Bianca's a fine girl. All she was lacking was a little discipline."

"Seems you've helped Bianca quite a bit." Mr. Edmonds observed. "Thank you for looking out for her."

"No trouble at all. I've actually grown quite fond of your daughter." Miyamoto replied. Her mouth suddenly curved into a smirk. "So… what did you say that you did for a living?"

"Oh I didn't. I'm a lawyer." Mr. Edmonds answered. "I'm actually partner in a very successful law firm."

"You don't say." Miyamoto said with great interest as she came closer to Mr. Edmonds. "Tell me, are you seeing anyone at the moment?"

"Uh, no?" Mr. Edmonds answered with an expression reminiscent of a mouse cornered by a cat.

Jessie immediately noticed the interaction of Mr. Edmonds and her mother and sighed heavily. At that moment Ash emerged from Bianca's room.

"Mr. Edmonds? Bianca would like to have a word with you." Ash informed him. "Then you Misty."

"Oh, I'll be right there." Mr. Edmonds replied with a grateful smile. "If you'll excuse me."

"Hurry back." Miyamoto called with a seductive wink as he walked off. Jessie sighed heavily again and shook her head.

"Looks like you might be getting a step sister in the future." Persian remarked with a grin.

"Shut up." Jessie shot back.

* * *

The remaining time Ash and his friends spent in Brass Town was uneventful, and at last the barge that was to take them to Virbank City was about to arrive. As they waited for the boat to pull up to the dock, Pikachu's ears perked up to a distant but fast approaching noise. Pikachu and Lucario looked back and saw a familiar blond barreling towards them like a runaway train.

"Wait up, wait up, wait up, WAIT UP!" Bianca called as she came in range.

Acting quickly, Lucario suddenly pushed Ash out of Bianca's path, inadvertently sending both him and Pikachu into the water. In the space of seconds Bianca tripped, fell forwards, and landed on top of Misty. Bianca was wearing a different outfit from before. In addition to her original green beret with the white stripe she had on a white t-shirt with an orange vest, tight grey jeans, and brown shoes. She also still had on the belt with the R on the silver buckle.

"Oh, hi Misty." Bianca greeted.

"Hi Bianca." Misty greeted back.

"This is what you were talking about before, isn't it?" Bianca realized.

"Uh-huh. Do you mind getting off me now please?" Misty requested.

"Oh, sorry." Bianca replied before quickly getting off Misty.

"Hey, where's Ash?" Chili asked.

At that moment Ash and Pikachu climbed out of the water. Lucario profusely bowed apologetically to Ash and Pikachu. Pikachu gave the jackal Pokemon an annoyed glare.

"So what brings you here Bianca?" Misty asked.

"I'd like to travel with you guys for awhile." Bianca explained. "I already have eight gym badges, so I might as well join you all since we're both heading for the Unova League. So is it okay if I tag along?"

"I'm fine with it." Misty agreed.

"Sure, the more the merrier." Chili concurred. "What about you Ash?"

"Fine with me." Ash agreed as he rung the water out of his vest. "We just have to make a stop in Virbank City to get my final badge."

"Oh, I can show you the way to the gym." Bianca offered. "I earned my seventh badge from there."

"Cool." Ash replied. "Well then, as soon as that barge pulls in we'll be off. Virbank City, here we come."

* * *

**Author's Note:** And then there were four. So once again we got to see the prophetic vision Ash saw towards the end of _Trial of the Phoenix_. There were obviously quite a few changes to the vision since that story, some of which were influenced by the next Pokemon movie to come out in Japan. I think everyone can guess who the guy with the red hair leading Team Rocket in the vision is. Especially if they read _I Was a Teenage Jenny_. There were quite a few characters in that scene. Some were OCs, and others were popular characters and Pokemon to the series. See if you can guess who the unidentified characters are. Anyway, in the next chapter we not only have the final gym battle, but the return of an OC. So stay tuned.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	47. Raging Thunder, Part 1

**Author's Note:** In one of the last reviews I got, the question was raised on whether or not Chili and Rio were going to end up as a couple at some point. Admittedly I have been toying with the idea, but I haven't decided on it for sure. So to my guest reviewer, thank you for raising that question.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 46: Raging Thunder, Part 1

It only took an hour for the barge at Brass Town to take Ash and his companions to Virbank City. Upon their arrival, Bianca led the way to the city's gym. Her route led the group into a somewhat seedy-looking ally with walls covered in graffiti and a large pine-green dumpster with a highly rancid smell. Right by one of the buildings was a small set of steps that led to a door. Ash and the others could hear the loud sounds of a rock band thumping from behind the door.

"Are you sure this is the right place Bianca?" Ash asked.

"Yep. The leader of the Virbank Gym is also the bass player for Unova's biggest rock band, the Koffings." Bianca explained as she opened the door.

With the door open the sound of the rock music from within intensified. The group walked inside to find themselves inside what looked like a small restaurant. On stage was a band made up of three musicians. The drummer was a man with a shaved head wearing a black leather jacket. Another member of the band, playing a purple electric guitar, was a young woman with long black hair tied back into a ponytail wearing a black top, short purple skirt, and very purple mascara. The final member of the band, playing a very unique bass guitar, was a girl with white hair arranged so that a single lock of it on the top of her head was pointing straight up like a spike. She had on a baggy long-sleeved blue and purple striped shirt with a short spiked blue skirt and black boots with blue tips. The bass guitarist seemed to have a very irritated expression on her face.

"No, no, no!" the bass guitarist yelled, causing the rest of the band to stop playing. "Damit Billy Jo! You keep coming in late!"

"Well sorry, but we've been playing for an hour straight!" The black-haired guitarist shot back. "My fingers are starting to bleed!"

"Just suck it up!" the bass guitarist ordered. "We need to play better than this!"

"Chill out Roxie. We're doin' our best." The drummer told the white-haired guitarist.

"Stay out of this Ricky!" Roxie shot back at him. "You just focus on keeping your tempo up! You've been playing way too slow!"

"Hi Roxie." Bianca interrupted, getting the bass guitarist's attention.

"Oh, you're that blond who came in with those two old ladies and their butler a few weeks ago." A still irritated Roxie recalled. Roxie's comment about Miyamoto's gang caused Misty to snicker a bit. "What do you want? I already gave you a badge!"

"I'm just here to cheer on a friend." Bianca explained.

"Excuse me." Ash cut in. "My name is Ash, and I've come for a gym battle."

"Fine." Roxie agreed with an exasperated sigh. "Ricky, Billy Jo, you guys take five. As for you challenger, get your butt up here."

Roxie's fellow band members got off stage, leaving their instruments behind. Ash got on stage with Pikachu and Lucario as Roxie took her position.

"Yo ref! Get up here!" Roxie called over to the bar.

Getting up from a seat at the bar was a seven-foot tall man with a shaved head and several piercings. He had on a black leather vest but no shirt, revealing a tattoo on his muscular chest in the form of a skull. The man also wore tattered black jeans, fingerless black gloves, and black boots with spiked steel toes.

"Oi! This match'll be a three-on-three Pokemon battle!" the odd-looking referee declared. "Only the challenger'll be allowed to switch Pokemon durin' the battle! Begin!"

"You're on Garbodor!" Roxie called out as she threw a Pokeball. The live trash mound emerged onto the stage.

"I should've known you'd be a Poison-type user just from the name of your band." Ash observed before throwing his own ball. "Go Ferroseed!" The metal seedpod burst out onto the stage. "Hit Garbodor with Gyro Ball!"

"Use Focus Blast!" Roxie commanded.

Feroseed spun around at high speed and took off into the air at Garbodor. In the same instant, the living trash heap threw a ball of bluish-green light with one of its arms. Ferroseed was hit but barreled through the blast and struck Garbodor hard in the chest. After bouncing off Garbodor to the ground, Ferroseed began to glow with a white light and change in shape and size. The light soon faded to reveal that the metal plant's body had taken on a more saucer-like shape. His body was still covered in spikes, with one green spike up on top. Growing out from around the spike were three long green vines that ended in large spiked balls that were metal on their topside. The plant creature seemed to use these vines as legs. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out what Ferroseed had evolved into.

"Ferrothorn, the Thorn Pod Pokemon, and the evolved form of Ferroseed." The Pokedex identified. "Ferrothorn uses the spiked weapons on the end of its vines to fight enemies. A strike from one of these weapons is strong enough to shatter a boulder."

"Okay then Ferrothorn, use Gyro Ball one more time!" Ash commanded.

Ferrothorn spun around again like a top and rammed into Garbodor hard. The living trash heap was almost knocked onto its back.

"Finish it with Power Whip!" Ash ordered.

Spinning around again Ferrothorn struck Garbodor with the weapons on the end of his vines. After being struck three times Garbodor fell to the ground on his back unconscious.

"Garbodor is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round One goes to Ash and Ferrothorn!"

"You must think you're real funny using a Steel-type in this gym, huh?" Roxie asked as she called back Garbodor. "Let's see how you like this Pokemon? You're on Toxicroak!"

Bursting out of Roxie's second Pokeball was a dark-blue frog-like creature with a somewhat humanoid build. It stood at over four feet tall and had bight yellow eyes and a noticeable red upper lip. Jutting out from the creature's forehead was a large spike, and under its chin was a large red sack. The creature's three fingered hands each had a long red spike jutting out the back. It had muscular legs, and the middle toe on both its three toed feet were red.

"Use Low Kick!" Roxie ordered. The fighting frog kicked hard with its right foot at Ferroseed's underside, hurling the metal plant into the air. "Now hit it with Drain Punch!"

Just before Ferrothorn hit the ground, Toxicroak jabbed him with a blue glowing punch, hurling him back a few feet. When Ferrothorn hit the ground he was out cold.

"Ferrothorn is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Two goes to Roxie and Toxicroak!"

"Wow, that's one powerful Toxicroak." Chili commented on the sidelines.

"Not bad." Ash commented as he called back Ferrothorn. "Okay Lucario. Get in there."

Lucario nodded and walked onto the battlefield. The two Fighting-types glared at one another for a moment as they waited for the battle to resume.

"Another Steel-type? Okay Toxicroak, use Drain Punch again!" Roxie ordered.

"Use Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded.

Before Toxicroak could move, Lucario jumped in and struck the frog on the right side of its face with a glowing white punch. Toxicroak quickly recovered and jabbed Lucario in the chest with its own punch shrouded in blue light.

"Hang in there, Lucario!" Ash called. "Use Bone Rush!"

Upon recovering from Toxicroak's attack, Lucario formed a ball of blue light in his paw that changed into a steel bone. With incredible speed, Lucario began to repeatedly strike Toxicroak with his weapon. When the attack ended, Toxicroak fell to the ground unconscious.

"Toxicroak is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Three goes to Ash and Lucario!"

"That tears it!" a frustrated Roxie declared as she called back Toxicroak. "Time to bring out my strongest Pokemon! You're on Koffing!"

Emerging from Roxie's final Pokeball was a floating grayish-purple ball with several bumps on its body that were like vents. Beneath its face was a set of off-white markings similar to skull and crossbones.

"Hit that Lucario with Flamethrower!" Roxie commanded.

Koffing belched out a stream of green flames at the jackal Pokemon. Lucario crossed his arms to block the attack. Though he still took some damage.

"Fight back with Ice Punch!" Ash commanded.

"Use Gyro Ball!" Roxie ordered.

Lucario jumped at Koffing with a raised paw shrouded in icy mist. At the same time Koffing span around at high speed at Lucario, inadvertently impacting on his fist. The toxic ball of gas was frozen in ice and fell to the ground.

"Aw damit!" Roxie cursed.

"Use Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered.

Lucario jumped back a bit and threw a ball of blue light down at the frozen Koffing. The impact of the attack hurled Koffing back against the wall behind Roxie, shattering the ice it was encased in. Somewhat dazed, Koffing recovered and floated back onto the battlefield.

"Use Flamethrower again!" Roxie commanded.

"Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded.

Before Koffing could hit Lucario with another blast of flames, the jackal Pokemon leapt in and struck the gas ball with a white glowing fist. Koffing dropped out of the air and bounded once before rolling over to Roxie. The gas ball Pokemon was completely unconscious.

"Koffing is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Which means victory in the match goes to Ash and Lucario!"

Disguested, Roxie called the defeated Koffing back to its ball. She then reached into her pocket and pulled out a gym badge.

"Here! Take your Toxic Badge and go!" Roxie said almost shouting as she threw the badge across the field. Ash quickly caught the badge in his hand before it dropped to the floor.

"Uh, thanks." Ash replied as Roxie stormed off stage.

* * *

Ash and the others had returned to the Pokemon Center to tend to Ferrothorn and Lucario's wounds. Once the Pokemon had been tended to the group went over to the Pokemon Center's waiting area.

"That wasn't exactly how I imagined my eighth Unova gym battle." Ash admitted, as he looked at the eight badges he now had in his badge case.

"Bianca, was Roxie like that when you battled her?" Misty asked.

"I don't really remember actually." Bianca replied. "But then I guess I had my own issues to deal with at the time."

"Hey." A familiar voice interrupted. Ash and the others looked to see it was Billy Jo. "Mind if I have a word with you guys?"

"You're a member of Roxie's band, right?" Misty realized.

"Yeah, the name's Billy Jo." The guitarist replied. "Look, I came to apologize for how Roxie acted. She's kinda been under a lot of pressure lately."

"What kind of pressure?" Chili inquired.

"There's this battle of the bands competition that takes place here in Virbank every year around this time." Billy Jo explained. "The next one is set for tomorrow night. And for the last two years our band has been beaten by this other band, Raging Thunder."

"Raging Thunder?" Ash repeated.

"They're a newer band that came out not long after ours did." Billy Jo explained. "It was started by this hotshot Pokemon Trainer from Sinnoh. In the last two battles they came out on top and we ended up with second place. So now Roxie is determined to beat them."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Bianca offered.

"Nah, it's kinda out of your hands." Billy Jo replied. "But I suppose if you want I can pull some strings and get you some front row seats. I'm sure Roxie would appreciate your support."

"We'll be there then." Ash agreed.

* * *

The following night Ash and the others were in the front row as Virbank's band competition got into full swing. They had witnessed the performance of five other bands before Roxie and the Koffings took the stage. So far there had been no sign of the band's archrival, Raging Thunder. The group watched as Roxie's band finished their song for the competition. When it was over the audience erupted with applause.

"Wow! Roxie and her band were pretty good." An impressed Misty commented.

"I'd say Raging Thunder is going to have to go a long way to beat them." Chili agreed.

"Okay, let's hear it again for the Koffings!" the master of ceremonies said to the crowd as he walked back on stage. The audience applauded again. "And now, for the final act. Please give it up for Raging Thunder!"

The audience cheered once more but died down when the heard the riff of an electric guitar up on stage. The sound of this particular riff was very familiar to Ash and Misty. In a flash the stage was lit up to reveal the four members of Raging Thunder up on stage. The drummer was a young man with straight black hair that reached down almost to his shoulders wearing a red buttoned up long-sleeved shirt and orange sunglasses. At the keyboard was another young man with blonde hair styled in a mullet wearing a white jacket with rolled up sleeves and a yellow t-shirt. The bass player was another young gentleman with long straight white hair with a thick black band over his forehead wearing a black leather jacket with a dark-blue t-shirt and a pair of tattered faded blue jeans. But it was the lead guitarist that Ash and Misty immediately recognized. He was a young man with spiked blonde hair wearing black sunglasses with a black t-shirt, yellow vest, and faded jeans. In his hands was a red electric guitar.

"Bolt?" a surprised Ash and Misty said together.

"Wait, do you guys know one of the guys in Raging Thunder?" Chili asked.

"Yeah, the lead guitarist. Bolt Hanson." Ash answered. "Misty and I both met him in Johto a little over three years ago."

"Helloo Virbank!" Bolt greeted into the microphone, causing the audience to cheer. "I'm sure many of you know me as Bolt Hanson, the badass rocker of Sinnoh. With me up here on stage we have our bass player Ross Jones, our drummer Ted 'Skins' Vincent, and on keyboard we have Quinton Mercury. And together we are… Raging Thunder!"

"Wow, Bolt is so cool!" Bianca declared with love struck eyes.

"Bianca, are you actually attracted to Bolt?" Misty asked.

"Well, he is a little scrawny like Ash, but… wow!" was Bianca's only reply.

"About three years ago I traveled through Kanto." Bolt began up on stage. "And while I was there I met this guy who ended up becoming one of the worst people I ever met. I ran into him again only a few weeks ago. We exchanged a few words, and when it was all over the guys and I got the idea for this next song. Ladies and gentlemen, Like Lightning."

With that, Bolt and his band began to play. Ash and the others got a sense of anger from the sound of the notes.

_"When I first met you, you weren't so bad._

_But when I see your face now, you make me feel so mad._

_I safe to say my friend_

_That I really hate your guts._

_You took the best thing that I ever got._

_You may have won now, but you're not so hot._

_It really ticked me off_

_When you came and rubbed it in my face._

_Like lightning, striking the tallest tree._

_I'm gonna take you down._

_And I'm gonna bring you to your knees._

_I may not be able to touch you right now._

_But I will take you out, once I figure out how._

_You may think I'm done_

_But I'm not that easy to break._

_Sooner or later I'll get my day._

_And when that day comes, I'm gonna make you pay._

_You're gonna wish real hard_

_That you and I never met._

_Like lightning, striking the tallest tree._

_I'm gonna take you down._

_And I'm gonna bring you to your knees."_

At this point the lyrics came to a pause as Bolt went into a furious guitar solo. The strings of his instrument rang with passionate emotion as the solo went on for about three minutes. Then at last the lyrics resumed.

_"Like lightning, striking the tallest tree._

_I'm gonna take you down._

_And I'm gonna bring you to your knees._

_Like lightning, striking the tallest tree._

_I'm gonna take you down._

_And I'm gonna bring you to your knees._

_I'm gonna bring you to your knees._

_I'm gonna bring you to your knees!"_

The song ended and everyone in the audience stood up and cheered. Even Ash and his friends found themselves on their feet clapping. Though Bianca was cheering the loudest. As the cheers slowly died down the MC walked back up on stage.

"That was quite the act, wasn't it ladies and gentlemen?" the MC asked the audience, causing them to cheer again. "Well, the judges have spoken. And the winner of this year's battle of the bands competition is… Raging Thunder!"

The audience roared with approval as the MC handed Bolt a trophy. Bolt and the rest of his band gave the audience a bow.

"Wow! So cool!" a still love struck Bianca declared.

"Why don't we all go back stage and meet Bolt and the rest of his band?" Ash suggested.

"Good idea." Misty agreed. "Though we should give Roxie and her band our support too."

Within moment Ash and the others made it back stage and quickly ran into Bolt and his band. Bolt noticed Ash and Misty almost immediately.

"Well blow me down." Bolt declared as he approached. "Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower. How've you guys been?"

"Hey Bolt. It's been awhile." Ash greeted back. "We're doing pretty well actually."

"So are you two still 'just friends', or have you moved past that?" Bolt inquired.

"Ash and I are officially a couple now." Misty confirmed. "So how've you been Bolt? It's been awhile since we last met."

"I'm doin' okay." Bolt replied. "Band's really taking off, we actually just released our third album."

"So how'd you like Kanto?" Ash asked.

"It was okay. The trip had a few ups and downs, but I liked the place." Bolt answered. "You guys could've warned me about that gal who was the leader of the Saffron Gym. She was a little out there."

"You have no idea." Ash replied.

"So, I see you got some new traveling buddies." Bolt observed after noticing Chili and Bianca.

"Nice to meet you." Chili greeted. "I'm Chili."

"And who is this lovely young lady?" Bolt asked in a suave manner as he went over to Bianca.

"I'm, uh, Bianca." The blonde girl replied as her face turned a heavy shade of red.

"Always nice to meet such a pretty young woman like yourself." Bolt replied as he lowered his shades and kissed the back of Bianca's hand.

"Hanson!" a familiar voice interrupted. Everyone looked to see that it was Roxie with the rest of her band.

"Oh, hey there Roxie." Bolt greeted. "You and your guys put on a pretty good show out there."

"You and that band of yours may've won this round, but next time we'll be on top." Roxie declared.

"Dream on." Bolt's bass player Ross scoffed. "That little punk rock scene of yours is dying out real fast. You guys are old news."

"Dude, chill." Bolt told Ross. "Roxie and her crew aren't bad."

"You know Hanson, you and your guys aren't so hot." An offended Roxie told him. "You may've beaten us in these competitions, but there's no way you could take me down in a Pokemon battle."

"Really." Bolt replied, sounding very intrigued. "You know I have been in my share of battles. I've even taken part in a few Pokemon League competitions."

"Then why don't you prove it to me by battling me tomorrow at my place?" Roxie dared. "And it'll be a six-on-six battle."

"Fine by me." Bolt agreed. "I'll take you on Roxie. And by the time I'm done, you'll be electrified."

* * *

**Author's Note:** One of the reasons I had decided that Ash's eighth gym battle would be against Roxie was so I could set up a battle between Roxie and Bolt. I liked the idea of two Pokemon rock musicians facing off. This was actually a pretty hard chapter to write. For one thing I'm a little worried that Ash's battle with Roxie might've been a bit of a let down. If it was I apologize. The other challenge of this chapter was the scene where Raging Thunder performed on stage. After all, how does one write a music video portion into a book/fanfic? So I just made up some song lyrics and wrote them into the chapter.

The song is actually about a rival/arch nemesis character of Bolt's that will appear in other stories. So far I haven't done any stories focusing on Bolt. But I'll get to them in time. Just need to work out a few more details.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	48. Raging Thunder, Part 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 47: Raging Thunder, Part 2

The day following Virbank City's battle of the bands competition, Ash and his friends returned to the Virbank Gym to witness Bolt's battle with Roxie. Upon entering the gym they found the members of both bands waiting for the battle to start. But there was no sign of either Roxie or Bolt. Just as the group joined up with the members of the two bands though, Roxie walked up on stage and took her battle position. It was only a matter of time before the fight would begin.

"Where's Bolt?" Bianca wondered. "Seems like he's running late."

"Relax little lady, he'll show." Quinton, the keyboard artist from Bolt's band, assured her. "Bolt just likes to be fashionably late. Builds the suspense and all that."

"Sounds like you guys know Bolt pretty well." Ash observed.

"We've been in the same band for quite a while now." Bolt's bass player Ross pointed out. "Bolt met up with us while he was traveling through Kanto a couple years ago."

"You guys are all from Kanto?" Misty asked. "That's where Ash and I are from."

"No kidding." Quinton replied. "Where in Kanto are you two from?"

"I'm from Pallet Town and Misty's from Cerulean City." Ash answered. "What about you guys."

"I hail from Saffron City." Quinton replied. "Ross is from Vermilion City, and Skins comes all the way from Pewter City."

"Oh hey, do you know the city's gym leader, Brock?" Ash inquired to Bolt's drummer.

"Yeah." Skins replied simply.

"And?" Misty asked.

"S'okay guy." Skins replied with a shrug.

"You'll have to forgive Skins, he doesn't talk much." Ross explained.

"Glad to see you guys getting along so well." Billy Jo cut in with a hint of sarcasm in her voice. "You know I got you guys tickets to the show so you'd back Roxie."

"Hey, we had no idea that Bolt was the leader of Raging Thunder." Ash pointed out. "He's an old friend of ours. Well of me and Misty anyway."

"Take it easy Billy Jo." Ricky told her. "You can't expect these guys to just dump their friend like that."

"Whatever." Billy Jo replied with a roll of her eyes.

"Where the hell is that showoff?" Roxie demanded to know as she tapped her foot impatiently up on stage. At last the door of the gym opened and Bolt walked in.

"Sorry, forgot to set my alarm last night." Bolt apologized as he walked up on stage. "So, ready to get this show on the road?"

"You bet I am." Roxie replied. "Yo ref. Let's get this going."

"Oi! This'll be a special six-on-six match!" the gym's referee declared up on stage. "Both challengers may switch Pokemon durin' the battle! Begin!"

"You're on Crobat!" Roxie called as she threw out her first ball. Flying out of the ball was a large purple bat with two pairs of wings that were green on the inside.

"Too easy." Bolt confidently declared as he threw out his own Pokeball. "Let's rock Magezone!"

The Pokemon that flew out of Bolt's ball was a blue-grey flying saucer-like Pokemon that was mainly blue-grey and had a yellow antenna on top. On the sides of its body were what looked like two smaller heads, each with a single eye and a large horseshoe magnet on the underside like a claw and a large screw protruding at the top at a diagonal angle. The eye on its center head had a red iris, and on the underside of its main body was a third magnet.

"Aw man, it looks like Roxie picked the worst kind of Pokemon to use against Bolt." Chili observed.

"What kind of Pokemon does Bolt like to use?" Bianca asked.

"From what Ash and I saw when we met him, Bolt seems to use Electric-types." Misty answered.

"Bolt's an electric specialist alright." Ross confirmed. "When I first saw him in action, he put Lieutenant Surge to shame. And he was a gym leader like Roxie."

"Hey Skins, did you see Bolt in action when he battled at the Cerulean Gym?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. Creamed 'em." Skins replied.

"That figures." Misty sighed.

"Don't get cocky just 'cause you have a Steel-type!" Roxie told Bolt up on stage. "Crobat, use Hidden Power!"

"Thunderbolt." Bolt commanded.

Just as Crobat began to glow with an odd green aura, Magnezone shocked the bat with a powerful blast of yellow lightning generated from its magnets. When the attack ended, Crobat somehow managed to stay in the air.

"Whoa, I'm impressed." Bolt praised. "Usually Magnezone's Thunderbolt is enough to knock out Flying-types with just one hit. Still, that Crobat of yours is outta luck. Finish with Magnet Bomb!"

Magnezone began to crackle with blue electricity that gathered at its right magnet into a ball. Once the ball had grown large enough the electric saucer fired it at Crobat. The bat Pokemon was hit and knocked out of the air unconscious.

"Crobat is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round One goes to Bolt and Magnezone!"

"I was hoping you'd be more of a challenge." Bolt said smugly as Roxie called back Crobat.

"How's this for challenge? You're on Toxicroak!" Roxie called as she threw her second ball of the match. The fighting frog burst out onto the field to face Magnezone. "Low Kick!"

"Use Lock-On and Zap Cannon!" Bolt commanded.

Magnezone's red eye glowed as Toxicroak rushed towards it. The toxic frog delivered a powerful kick to Mangezone's underside, causing it to flip in the air. But the flying saucer quickly recovered as it gathered electricity between its magnets and fired a powerful electrified ball. Toxicroak was hit in the chest and crackled with electricity for a few moments after the attack hit.

"Use Drain Punch!" Roxie ordered.

Toxicroak hit Magnezone in the underside again with a blue glowing punch. The magnet Pokemon flipped in the air before crashing to the ground unconscious.

"Magnezone is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Two goes to Roxie and Toxicroak!"

"I didn't think Bolt would be able to win this with just Magnezone alone." Ash commented. "Especially when Roxie brought out that Toxicroak of hers."

"Yeah, but Bolt's still got a few tricks up his sleeve." Quinton confidently pointed out.

"Let's rock Emolga!" Bolt called as he threw his second Pokeball. The flying squirrel Pokemon flew out to face Toxicroak. "Use Acrobatics!"

"Hit it with Poison Jab!" Roxie commanded.

Just as Emolga flew in close, Toxicroak manage to hit the flying squirrel in the chest with a purple glowing punch. Emolga recovered though and began flying around the frog at high speed and ramming into it in various spots. When the attack ended, Toxicroak fell to the ground face first.

"Toxicroak is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Three goes to Bolt and Emolga!"

"I have to say, you're not bad Roxie." Bolt commented as Roxie called back Toxicroak. "But you've got a long way to go in this battle to beat me."

"We'll see about that! You're on Amoonguss!" Roxie called out. The mushroom Pokemon emerged from its ball onto the field. "Use Venoshock!"

From its mouth, Amoonguss spat out a blob of green gunk that hit Emolga right in the face. The flying squirrel crackled with purple electricity as it fell to the ground unconscious.

"Emolga is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Four goes to Roxie and Ammonguss!"

"Man, this is a really fast-paced battle." Chili commented. "Both Roxie and Bolt seem evenly matched."

"Okay, not bad." Bolt commented as he called back Emolga. "But let's see how you do against this guy. Let's rock Galvantula!"

Emerging from Bolt's ball was a large yellow and purple tarantula with four legs. On its face it had two large eyes and four smaller eyes on its forehead. On the sides of its abdomen it had four indigo colored tufts of fur.

"Gross." Misty declared with a cringe.

"Awesome!" Ash declared.

"Yeah, Bolt raised that Galvantula from a Joltik he found when we were traveling through Chargestone Cave." Quinton recalled. "I can still remember it as if it were yesterday…"

* * *

_Months before, Bolt and the rest of Raging Thunder were passing through the Chargestone Cave on their way to perform a gig in Mistralton City. Quinton had just finished capturing a Klink with the help of his Porygon and the band was about to move on. But Bolt stopped when he saw a Joltik on the cave wall looking at him._

_"Dudes look, a Joltik." An excited Bolt told the others. "I'm gonna catch it."_

_"C'mon man, you just caught that Tynamo we spent five hours looking for." A somewhat irritated Ross reminded him. "We've got a gig to get to, remember?"_

_"Relax bro, it'll only take me a second to catch this Joltik." Bolt assured him as he pulled out an empty Pokeball. "I mean look how small the little guy is."_

_"You know Bolt, you shouldn't underestimate a Pokemon just by its size." Quinton pointed out._

_"C'mon, how hard could it be?" Bolt scoffed as he raised his arm to throw the ball. Suddenly the Joltik jumped off the wall and latched onto Bolt's forehead, causing him to run around in circles flailing his arms. "AAAHHH! OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD!"_

_The Joltik shocked Bolt right before he ran into a wall, knocking both himself and the electric mite out. As Bolt fell he accidentally threw the empty Pokeball into the air. When the ball dropped it hit Joltik and sucked the arachnid inside. It only took a few seconds for the ball to stop moving and make the sound that signaled a completed capture. Bolt's fellow band members looked at their unconscious front man and sweat dropped._

* * *

"Wow, that totally sounds like Bolt." Misty declared after hearing Quinton's story.

"You really expect that bug of yours to beat my Amoonguss?" Roxie scoffed up on stage. "It might have a small advantage being a Bug-type, but that also makes it weak to Poison-type attacks."

"Yeah, but type isn't everything you know." Bolt retorted. "I mean my Magnezone was a Steel-type and you still took it down."

"Whatever. Amoonguss, use Sludge Bomb!" Roxie commanded.

"Dodge and use Signal Beam!" Bolt ordered.

Amoonguss spat out a large ball of purple gunk at Galvantula. The arachnid Pokemon jumped to the side of the attack and fired four multicolored beams of light from the four eyes on its forehead. The mushroom Pokemon was hit in the face by the beams and gained a dazed expression.

"It looks like Galvantula's Signal Beam confused Amoonguss." Chili observed.

"Use Sludge Bomb again!" Roxie commanded.

"Amp it up Galvantula! Bug Buzz!" Bolt ordered.

Before Amoonguss could launch another attack, Galvantula suddenly produced a loud buzzing noise that forced Ash and the others to cover their ears. When the noise finally stopped, Amoonguss was unconacious.

"Amoonguss is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Five goes to Bolt and Galvantula!"

"Man, this is still a really close battle." Ash observed as Roxie called back Amoonguss on stage.

"Yeah, and I'm not sure who to root for." Misty added.

"Woo-hoo! Yeah! Go Bolt!" Bianca cheered excitedly.

"Well, it looks like Bianca's chosen a side." Chili noted.

"You're on Koffing!" Roxie called as she threw her next ball. The floating gas ball Pokemon flew out to face Galvantula. "Use Flamethrower!"

"Hit it with Electroweb!" Bolt commanded.

Before Koffing could launch an attack, Galvantula fired an electrified spider web from its mouth and managed to net its floating opponent. Koffing was shocked as it was flung hard to the ground. The gas ball quickly recovered however and broke the web by belching out a stream of green flames, hitting Galvantula in the face in the process. Once freed, Koffing floated back up into the air.

"Use Thuunderbolt!" Bolt commanded.

"Dodge and use Gyro Ball!" Roxie ordered.

Galvantula attempted to zap Koffing with a yellow bolt of lighting. But at the last second Koffing spun out of the way and rammed hard into Galvantula's side.

"I think Galvantula's Electroweb attack might've worked against him and Bolt." Chili observed. "Gyro Ball does more damage when the user is slower than the opponent. And Electroweb lowers the speed of its target."

"Which means Bolt accidentally made Koffing's Gyro Ball stronger." Misty quickly realized.

"That's what I'm talking about Roxie!" Billy Jo cheered. "You show that loser a thing or two!"

"Finish with Sludge Bomb!" Roxie commanded.

Koffing spat out a large ball of purple sludge that hit Galvantula in the face. The arachnid Pokemon fell to the ground after being hit.

"Galvantula is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Six goes to Roxie and Koffing!"

"Ouch, looks like things have gotten a lot more serious." Bolt observed as he called back Galvantula. "But then I love a challenge. Let's rock Elektross!" With the throw of his next ball, the green eel burst out onto the field. "Hit that Koffing with Crunch!"

"Use Sludge Bomb again!" Roxie commanded.

Elektross slithered through the air towards Koffing with its fangs ready. At the same time, Koffing spat out another ball of gunk at the eel and hit it in the chest. Elektross brushed off the attack but suddenly looked ill. Once in range, Elektross bit down hard on Koffing's front and flung it to the ground. Koffing managed to recover though and floated back up.

"Use Gyro Ball again!" Roxie commanded.

"Thunderbolt!" Bolt ordered.

Before Koffing could launch another attack, Elektross zapped him with a blast of yellow electricity. Koffing crashed back to the ground out cold.

"Koffing is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Seven goes to Bolt and Elektross!"

"I still can't believe how evenly matched these two are." Chili told the others as Roxie called back Koffing. "Just when one of them gets ahead the other one turns it all around."

"You're on Garbodor!" Roxie called as she threw her fifth ball of the match. The living trash mound burst out onto the field. "Hit Elektross with Venoshock!"

Garbodor squirted out a powerful stream of green gunk from the fingers on its hand. The gunk drenched Elektross and caused the eel to spark with purple electricity.

"You shock me, I shock you back." Roxie told Bolt. "Use Gunk Shot Garbodor!"

"Thunderbolt one more time!" Bolt commanded.

The weakened Elektross managed to strike Garbodor with one more electric blast. But the living trash mound quickly recovered and raised its arm, causing a large black bag of trash to suddenly appear. Garbodor threw the bag at Elektross, hitting the eel and causing it to fall to the ground unconscious.

"Elektross is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Eight goes to Roxie and Garbodor!"

"Should've figured that it'd come down to this." Bolt mussed as he called back Elektross. "Time for you to meet my first Pokemon. Let's rock Luxray!"

Bursting out of Bolt's ball was a Pokemon that resembled a lion. It was mainly blue and had a mane of black fur, with black fur on its front legs, rear, and tail. Its eyes were red with gold irises, and on the tip of its tail was what looked like a four-pointed star.

"Hit that Garbodor with Wild Charge!" Bolt ordered.

Luxray ran full speed towards Garbodor as his body became shrouded in electrical energy. The impact from Luxray's attack struck with enough force to hurl Garbodor into the wall behind Roxie and knock it out.

"Garbodor is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Nine goes to Bolt and Luxray!"

"Wow! I had no idea Bolt's Luxray was so strong." An impressed Misty told the others.

"That's it! Time I stopped holding back!" Roxie decided as she called back Garbodor. "You're on Scolipede!"

Bursting out of Roxie's final ball was a very large purple centipede-like creature that was mainly reddish-purple and had yellow eyes and a black underside. Its upper half curved upright while its lower half had four long horse-like leg that were longer than the other legs on its body. Purple rings ran along the sides of the creature's body, and on its hind end were two blade-like tails, each with three purple stripes. It had a similar a pair of blade-like antenna on its head. Ash got out his Pokedex to find out more about the Pokemon that Roxie had called out.

"Scolipede, the Megapede Pokemon, and the evolved form of Whirlipede." The Pokedex identified. "This highly aggressive Pokemon is known for relentlessly attacking its prey with its horns before finishing them off with a deadly toxin."

"Use Earthquake!" Roxie commanded.

Scolipede thrashed its body and stopped the ground with its legs. The entire gym then started to shake, causing one of the lights on the ceiling to fall to the floor. When the quake finally ended, Luxray was on his side unconscious.

"Luxray is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory in Round Ten goes to Roxie and Scolipede!"

"Oh no! Now Bolt's only down to one Pokemon!" a worried Bianca exclaimed. "And that Scolipede has a powerful Earthquake attack! How can Bolt win against a Pokemon like that?"

"Fret not, my lady. Bolt's been up against way tougher opponents than this." Quinton assured her. "It may look like he's down, but he'll bounce back."

"Yeah, someone like Roxie's no problem after beating someone like Richter." Ross added.

"Who's Richter?" Ash asked.

"Richter Chase, a guy Bolt and the rest of us met while traveling through Kanto." Quinton explained, his expression turning a bit angry. "He's a real jerk. And that's putting it mildly."

"Richter's the guy we wrote about in the song we did for the competition last night." Ross added. "We all hate his guts. Though Bolt does most of all."

"From the song it sounds like this guy Richter took something important to Bolt." Misty recalled. "What was it?"

"Wasn't a what, it was a who." Skins answered with a look of disgust.

"Anyway, it's not really our place to say." Quinton cut in. "You can ask Bolt if you want, but he'll probably just clam up about it. What I can tell you though is that even though Bolt won a big battle against Richter, he pretty much lost the war."

"Not so hot now, are ya?" Roxie declared confidently as Bolt called back Luxray.

"You know Roxie, you're a lot tougher than I thought you'd be." Bolt praised. "I mean I was expecting you to be strong being a gym leader and all, but you've put a lot of the Poison-type users I've met to shame, even this one cute ninja girl who runs the gym in Fuchsia City. It's been a real blast taking you on, but it's time to bring this to an end. Let's rock Raikou!"

Rushing out of Bolt's final Pokeball onto the field with a roar was a yellow saber-toothed cat with black stripes. Its eyes were red, and over its nose was something that looked like a blue X. It had a dark-grey crest adorning its forehead, and on its back was something that looked like a purple thundercloud. The cat's thin tail looked like a light-blue lightning bolt.

"What the hell?" a shocked Roxie exclaimed.

"Wait a minute, isn't Raikou a Legendary Pokemon from Johto?" Bianca realized.

"Yeah, it's one of the Legendary Beasts along with Suicune." Misty confirmed. "We actually met Bolt not long after he caught Raikou."

"It was around that time when Misty and I caught Suicune and Ho-Oh." Ash added.

"Legendary Pokemon or not, I'm taking you down!" Roxie declared. "Use Earthquake Scolipede!"

"Hit it with Extrasensory!" Bolt commanded.

Before Scolipede could make a move, Raikou's eyes glowed yellow and it fired a beam of golden-yellow light from the crest on its forehead. The beam hit Scolipede in the chest, causing it to flinch.

"Finish this Raikou!" Bolt ordered. "Rain Dance and Thunder!"

Raikou bent down its head and moved his front right leg forward. Afterwards the tiger lifted its head and roared at the sky. A bolt of lightning shot up from the cloud on its back into the air. The ceiling of the gym suddenly became covered in thick grey clouds and rain started to fall. Raikou roared again and shot another lightning bolt into the air from the cloud it had on its back. The lightning came down and struck Scolipede, causing it to fall on its side unconscious. With the centipede Pokemon out cold, the rain stopped and the clouds faded.

"Scolipede is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory for the match goes to Bolt and Raikou!"

"Yay! Bolt won!" Bianca excitedly cheered as she jumped up in the air.

"Dang!" Ricky exclaimed. "That Hanson guy really is good."

Up on the stage, Bolt and Roxie called back their respective Pokemon and walked towards one another. They stopped when they met half way on stage.

"I had you all wrong Hanson." Roxie admitted with a small smile. "I thought you were just some showoff who couldn't battle his way out of a paper bag. That's one of the reasons why losing to you all those times in the battle of the bands competition ticked me off. Sorry 'bout that."

"Don't worry about. A lot of people do think I'm all talk." Bolt assured her. "Anyway, it was an honor to battle you today."

"Same here." Roxie agreed as they shook hands. "Next battle of the bands though, I'm taking you down hard."

"We'll see about that." Bolt replied.

"Hey Ash, sorry 'bout how I acted in our gym battle." Roxie told him from on stage. "You're a pretty strong trainer too."

"Thanks." Ash replied.

"Hey Ash." Bolt called as he walked off stage. "If you and your guys aren't in any hurry to get to the Unova League, how'd you like to spend the rest of the day hanging out with me and my guys?"

"I certainly wouldn't mind." A love-struck Bianca agreed.

"It would be a nice chance to catch up." Misty pointed out.

"Plus it is still a while before the league competition starts." Chili added.

"Okay. Why not?" Ash agreed.

* * *

Ash and his companions ended up spending the entire afternoon and much of the evening with Bolt and the members of his band. During the time they swapped stories of each other's journeys. Though Ash and Misty did not speak much of what happened during their travels through Sinnoh and there were things that Bolt did not speak of about his journey through Kanto, things that Ash and Misty had to do with the infamous Richter Chase. But Ash did relate some of how he ended up spending two years training in Johto while Bolt talked about how he and his band got off the ground. The two groups parted company around 6:30 PM, though Bolt and Bianca discretely took off somewhere alone. They met up again the following morning outside the Pokemon Center.

"Well guys, it's been a blast." Bolt told them. "But my guys and I have a gig to get to in Striation City."

"Then I guess this is goodbye for now." Ash replied. "Take care Bolt."

"You two man." Bolt told him as they bumped fists. "Until next time."

"Bye Bolt." Bianca told him with a small wave and a goofy smile.

"Later beautiful." Bolt replied as he kissed her hand, causing her to blush. With that, Bolt and the rest of Raging Thunder walked off.

"Hey Bianca, where did you and Bolt go last night?" Misty inquired.

"Oh, nowhere special." Bianca replied with a sly grin. "Anyway, we should get going too."

"Right." Ash agreed. "Where to next, Chili?"

"Well if I'm reading the map right, the next stop on the way to the Unova League should be Black City." Chili answered. "We should be there in a couple of days."

"Black City it is then." Ash decided. "Looks like we're entering the home stretch."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Initially I guess I didn't really put much thought into Bolt's character when I came up with him. Bolt was mainly the comic relief of the trainers chosen by Ho-Oh and the Legendary Beasts. He didn't quite take on a life of his own like Noir Mask and Lisa Flare. But it has been suggested to me before that I do stories focusing on Bolt to develop him a bit more. And slowly a part of Bolt's history has pieced itself together. For one thing there's his band, and in this chapter we learn the name of his arch nemesis, Richter Chase. As for the reason why Bolt despises Richter so much, most of it is there in that one line Skins had in this chapter. At some point I'll tell the story of Bolt's travel through Kanto and the formation of his band. So many stories in this AU, and I'm sure there will be even more to tell once Pokemon X and Y come out.

Anyway, the next chapter should be a somewhat comedic one, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	49. Neon and Skybird

**Author's Note:** Throughout this story I've gotten numerous requests to bring back Ash's classic Pokemon. The reason why I haven't so far was because in the anime Ash's classic Pokemon don't usually return until the Pokemon League competition of whatever region he's in. But, seeing as how we're getting close to the Pokemon League chapters anyway, I thought I'd go ahead and bring back at least one. Especially since this particular Pokemon has already returned in the anime.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 48: Neon and Skybird

On their journey to the Unova League, Ash and company stopped in one of the landmark cities of the Unova Region, Black City. Named for its massive amount of black-colored skyscrapers, Black City was known far and wide for its wide variety of shops that sell rare hard-to-find items, and as a spot to battle incredibly powerful trainers. Unfortunately Ash and Misty could not enjoy the wonders of Black City, for almost as soon as they arrived Misty came down with a very bad cold and had no choice but to stay in bed at the city's special hotel for trainers. Ash of course stayed by her side to tend to her needs, whatever they might be. But that did not stop Bianca and Chili from enjoying the city. Chili rushed off to participate in a local tournament while Bianca took three spare Pokemon she captured during her quest to capture the Kami Trio to a special Pokemon Swap Meet.

This left Ash with only Pikachu and Lucario to help take care of Misty. At about midday, as Ash was taking Misty's empty soup bowl out to the kitchen along with what was perhaps her fifth empty box of tissues, the videophone near the door began to sound. Ash quickly placed the items on the counter and went to go answer. The image that appeared on the screen was Gary's.

"Hey man." Gary greeted on the other end of the line. "Boy, you look beat."

"Misty's come down with a cold and I'm the only one here to take care of her." A rather frazzled Ash explained.

"That's rough buddy." Gary replied with a sympathetic smile. "Anyway, you're in Black City right now, right?"

"Yeah. Why?" Ash answered.

"A friend of yours from Johto called from there yesterday and asked that I get in touch with you." Gary explained. "She wants you to send one of your Pokemon back to the lab. And before you ask why, she told me to keep it a surprise."

"Okay, I guess I'll play along." Ash agreed with a shrug. "I'll send back Ferrothorn."

Ash placed the metal plant's Pokeball in the special slot built into the videophone. Within seconds the ball was teleported away with a white light.

"Got it right here." Gary replied as he held up Ferrothorn's ball on the screen. "I'll see ya later."

"See ya." Ash responded.

"Oh, before I go though, I was wondering if you've heard anything about the pair of rogue trainers running around Black City?" Gary inquired.

"Rogue trainers?" Ash repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, the papers are calling them Neon and Skybird." Gary explained. "The story is they sneak around the city and challenge trainers to double battles. They say they're quite powerful."

"Well I wouldn't know. I've been here most of the time." Ash pointed out.

"Oh yeah, too bad." Gary replied. "Well, see ya buddy." With that, the screen went blank.

"Ash!" Misty called from her room in a weakened tone.

"Coming!" Ash called back as he rushed to her room.

Inside her room, Misty was in bed with the covers pulled up and an icepack on her head. Pikachu sat on the foot of the bed with a somewhat worried expression. Lucario meanwhile leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"Everything okay?" Ash asked.

"This icepack's gone warm." Misty informed him.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it." Ash assured her as he removed the pack. "I'll have to get more ice though. Lucario, you stay here in case Misty needs anything else. C'mon Pikachu."

"Pik." The electric rodent nodded as he hopped up on Ash's shoulder.

"Hurry back." Misty told them as they left.

Ash and Pikachu arrived down in the lobby only moments later and headed for the ice machine. As soon as they got there, someone walked up behind them.

"You're a hard guy to track down." A familiar voice spoke.

Ash turned around with Pikachu to see a woman with long tied back green hair wearing what almost looked like red armor on her torso. Ash quickly recognized her as the caretaker of the Charicific Valley in Johto.

"Hey Liza." A surprised Ash greeted. "What brings you all the way here to Unova?"

"I came to give you back this." Liza explained as she held out a Pokeball.

"My Charizard's Pokeball?" Ash asked as he took the ball.

"It's better if he goes back to you now." Liza replied. "Just send him out and you'll see why."

"Okay then." Ash agreed with a smirk. "Come on out Charizard!"

Emerging from the thrown ball was a red-orange dragon with a yellowish belly. The insides of its wings were blue-green and a red flame burned on the tip of its tail. Ash braced himself to get blasted in the face by Charizard's Flamethrower, as it was his usual greeting. But seconds passed and Ash was not burned. He opened his eyes and saw the sad expression that was on the fire dragon's face. Ash also noticed that Charizard looked paler than before and the flame on its tail was not burning as brightly as Ash remembered.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" a concerned Ash asked. Pikachu hopped off of Ash's shoulder and went over to face Charizard.

"Pika!" the rodent greeted in an enthusiastic manner. Charizard did not respond.

"What the matter with him?" Ash asked Liza.

"He's been dumped." Liza answered bluntly.

"Seriously? By Charla?" a shocked Ash asked. Charizard moaned with the mention of the female Charizard's name.

"It's best not to say her name." Liza told him. "But yeah, she decided it was over between them."

"What the hell happened?" Ash asked.

"It's an old story." Liza sighed. "Your Charizard went native and began to show off more and more. Then one day about two months ago this trainer dropped of his own Charizard in hopes it would get stronger. And this was a real nerdy Charizard. Well, yours started to pick on this newcomer and my Charizard didn't like it. In the end, she your Charizard for the nerd."

"No way." Ash said with a look of utter disbelief.

"After you-know-who dumped your Charizard he got pretty depressed." Liza went on. "He's pretty much lost his fighting spirit. I decided that he couldn't stay at the valley anymore, so that's why I'm returning him. You picked a fine time to go to Unova."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of him." Ash assured her.

"I have no doubt you will." Liza replied. "Well, I should be getting back. The valley isn't going to take care of itself. See you around Ash."

* * *

After Liza left, Ash got the bag of ice he needed and went back up to tend to Misty. He told Misty about the development with Charizard and told her he was going up to the roof to try and cheer him up. With Misty once again left in Lucario's care, Ash and Pikachu went up to the roof where Ash sent Charizard back out. He had hoped that the scenic view of the city would lift the fire dragon's spirits, but Charizard remained depressed.

"C'mon buddy. I know it hurts now, but it'll get better." Ash assured the dragon. Charizard ignored him.

"Pikachu pi." Pikachu said encouragingly, but all Charizard did was whimper a little.

"Man, I'm really out of my element here." Ash told Pikachu as he scratched the back of his head. "Misty's way better at handling this kind of thing. But I can't ask for her help right now, she needs her rest."

"Well, well. It seems I finally tracked you down, Ash Ketchum." A familiar voice spoke.

Ash and Pikachu turned around to see a young woman with long black hair done with long braided pigtails that went down all the way past her waist. She had on a sort of thick yellow fur coat with a yellow and blue top. The top connected to her somewhat revealing blue and yellow shorts be a silver buckle that covered her bellybutton. The shoe on her right foot was red while the one on the right was blue. Covering her eyes was a pair of red shades that extended out of a sleek pair of silver headphones she had on. Said headphones also had a pair of cone-shaped antenna, with the one on the right having red stripes and the one on the left having blue.

"Do I know you?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Come now, surly you haven't forgotten little ol' me." The woman replied with a smirk as her shades parted in the middle and retracted to reveal a pair of pale-blue eyes.

"Elesa?" a surprised Ash identified.

"That's right." The electric super model confirmed. "And I didn't come here alone."

On cue, walking up next to Elesa was another young woman, one with tan skin and reddish-brown hair that was short in the back. Ash quickly recognized her as Skyla, but just like Elesa her appearance had greatly changed as well. She had on a blue top that connected to a short blue skirt by a pair of dark-blue straps. With that though was a pair of knee-high blue boots with a dark-blue pilot's jacket and hat. The right breast of the jacket and the front of the hat both had on a set of gold wings. On Skyla's face was a pair of aviator sunglasses and on a string around her neck was a silver version of the propeller-shaped hair ornament she used to wear.

"It's been awhile Ash." Skyla greeted with a confident smirk.

"What the hell's going on?" Ash asked.

"Well for one thing, we've changed our image." Elesa explained. "We both decided that it would help us get our groove back."

"After that it was time for us to start training." Skyla added. "And we decided that Black City was the best place to do that. We've been challenging trainers left and right."

"Wait a minute. You two are this Neon and Skybird Gary told me about!" Ash suddenly realized.

"Those nicknames the media gave us sure have a nice ring to them." Skyla told Elesa.

"So what do you two want?" Ash demanded to know.

"We came to challenge you to a battle!" Elesa and Skyla said together as they pointed at Ash.

"…Can we do this another time?" Ash requested. "Right now I've got a sick girlfriend and a depressed Charizard to take care of."

"You're not getting out of this so easy Ketchum." Elesa told him. "Even though you were right, you were way too rough on my poor little Skyla."

"Wait, what did you just call her?" Ash asked with a quirked brow.

"And after you took down my darling Elesa in your gym battle she almost lost the will to fight." Skyla continued, completely ignoring Ash's question. "So now it's time for payback."

"Now just hold on…" Ash attempted to argue.

"Take off, my Majestic Red Wings, Salamence!" Skyla called as she threw out a Pokeball.

Soaring out of Skyla's Pokeball was a large blue four-legged dragon with a massive pair of red wings. Its underside of its torso was blue-grey and looked almost bony. The isides of its legs, as well as the undersides of its neck and long tail were red. The dragon's jaw was grey and it had two patches of red above its eyes, and on the each side of the dragon's head were three long fins. Salamence had a cocky expression on its face as it growled something at Charizard, getting the fire dragon's attention. Suddenly Charizard roared and breathed a stream of fire up into the air. The flame on the end of his tail started to burn brighter.

"Whoa! What did Salamence say to you?" a surprised Ash asked. Charizard's only reply was to glare at Skyla's blue dragon.

"Let's shine Raichu!" Elesa called as she threw her own ball.

Emerging from Elesa's Pokeball was a rodent that looked very much like Pikachu only larger. Much of its body was orange and its belly was white. Its arms and legs were mainly black and it had a pair of black-rimmed fin-like ears that were yellow on the inside. The rodent's tail was like a long black cord that ended in a large lightning bolt-shaped blade with a flat tip. Pikachu became very alert upon the emergence of his fully evolved counterpart.

"Chu rai rai raichu." Raichu told Pikachu with an arrogant grin. Enraged, Pikachu cried out and shot a large bolt of lightning into the sky.

"PIKA PIK!" Pikachu shouted back at Ash while pointing at Raichu. Charizard roared at Ash while pointing at Salamence with his tail.

"Okay, okay! We'll have a battle!" Ash relented as he held up his hands in surrender. "Jeez."

With that, Raichu jumped onto Salamence's back and they took off into the air. Pikachu hopped onto Charizard's back and the two did the same. The two Pokemon teams circled over the roof of the building.

"Let's mix it up a little guys!" Ash called up. "Pikachu, hit Salamence with Thunderbolt! And Charizard, you use Flamethrower on Raichu!"

"Pik… a… CHUUU!" Pikachu cried out as he fired a bolt of lightning at Salamence.

"Nice try, but it won't work." Elesa told Ash confidently.

Just as the bolt of electricity was about to hit, Raichu raised its tail into the air. The bolt hit the blade of Raichu's tail and traveled down, causing the rodent to spark with electricity.

"What the…!" Ash exclaimed.

"My darling Raichu's ability is Lightning Rod." Elesa explained. "It draws any and all electric attacks, negates the damage, and increases Raichu's attack power."

"Which means Pikachu's electric attacks aren't going to do any good." Ash quickly realized.

"Right-o." Skyla confirmed as she pointed her finger at Ash like a gun. "Now Salamence, dodge that Flamethrower and use Dragonbreath!"

Just as Charizard blasted at Salamence with a stream of flames, the blue dragon quickly flew to the right and sidestepped the attack. Salamence quickly flew in close and hit Charizard in the wing with a blast of purple flames. Charizard seemed to have trouble staying level after the attack.

"Bull's-eye, paralyzed." A very confident Skyla observed. "Let's get ready to wrap this up."

"You got it Sky." Elesa agreed. "Okay Raichu! Use Nasty Plot!"

"Salamence, get in close and use Dragon Claw!" Skyla commanded.

"It won't be that easy!" Ash declared. "Charizard, hit Salamence with your own Dragon Claw! Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Raichu!"

Salamence turned and came back towards Charizard and Pikachu as its claws began to glow with a blue light. At the same time, Raichu's eyes were glowing with an eerie purple light. Charizard meanwhile recovered a bit and came a Salamence head on. Once within range, Pikachu jumped into the air and flipped around as his tail became like metal. He came down and slammed his tail into Raichu's head, only to leap back into sky and flip back onto Charizard. A split second later the two dragons turned and slashed one another in the chest with their claws. When they passed they stopped in the air to glare at one another again. Salamence and Raichu both had confident expressions while Charizard and Pikachu both looked frustrated.

"Okay Charizard! Use Dragon Claw again!" Ash ordered. "Pikachu, you use Quick Attack on Raichu!"

"Use Attract!" Elesa and Skyla commanded together.

Before Charizard could make a move, Salamence and Raichu both gave their respective opponents a seductive wink. Pink energy hearts flew from their eyes and hit both of Ash's Pokemon in the face. Pikachu and Charizard were instantly love-struck.

"Wha? Both your Pokemon are girls?" a shocked Ash asked.

"I never said my Salamence was a boy, now did I?" Skyla pointed out. "It's amazing how so many trainers make that assumption."

"It's easy to tell that my Raichu is a girl though just by looking at the tip of her tail." Elesa added. "Every trainer knows that the end of a female Raichu's tail is flat."

"End this Salamence!" Skyla commanded. "Drench Charizard with Hydro Pump!"

"Raichu, use Focus Blast on Pikachu!" Elesa commanded.

Raichu got back up on her hind legs and formed a large ball of blue-green light between her front paws. Using both arms she threw the orb at Pikachu, knocking the love-struck rodent off Charizard's back. Pikachu crashed to the ground and was out cold. At the same time, Salamence hit Charizard with a powerful stream of water sprayed from her mouth. Charizard was knocked out of the sky and hit the ground hard next to Pikachu. And just like Pikachu, Charizard was out cold.

"Yahoo!" Skyla cheered as she jumped up. "We did it! We beat Ash!"

"Of course we did." Elesa told her as she hugged her from behind. "I told you we could. You and I aren't such bad trainers after all."

"Elesa." Skyla replied as she looked back into the electric model's eyes.

In moments the two met in an open-mouthed kiss that completely caught Ash off guard. A drop of blood trickled down from his nose. At the same time, Pikachu and Charizard both regained consciousness as Raichu and Salamence came down to meet them. Salamence came in close to Charizard and suddenly planted a kiss on the fire dragon's lips. She pulled away and growled something to Charizard while giving him a seductive wink. Charizard's face turned a deeper shade of red than it already was.

Meanwhile, Raichu hopped off Salamence's back and went over to Pikachu. Just as Pikachu got back to his feet, Raichu wrapped her tail around Pikachu's midsection and brought him in close. The larger electric rodent planted a firm kiss on Pikach's lips, causing sparks to literally fly from the smaller rodent's cheeks.

"Chu rai raichu." Raichu told Pikachu in a husky seductive tone after pulling away, causing the smaller rodent to blush.

"Well, we should be going now." Skyla decided after she and Elesa broke their kiss. "Let's go Salamence."

After Raichu jumped back onto Salamence's back the blue dragon pulled up to Elesa and Skyla. The two gym leaders mounted the dragon's back and flew off into the sky. Ash and his two Pokemon stared blankly at where they once were.

"…What the hell just happened?" Ash asked after a moment.

"Chu." Pikachu responded, still blushing from the kiss his evolved female counterpart gave him.

* * *

Down in her room, Misty was sitting up on her bed fully awake. Her condition had improved greatly since Ash went up to the roof. Just as she was about to flip on the T.V. for something to watch, Ash walked in with a still dazzled Pikachu on his shoulder. Lucario raised an eyebrow at Pikachu's expression.

"Did you manage to cheer up Charizard?" Misty asked.

"Well, he's got is fighting spirit back anyway." Ash answered as he sat on the end of her bed. "Plus I think he's stopped thinking about Charla."

At that moment, Bianca suddenly walked into the room. "Oh good Misty. You look like you're feeling a whole lot better."

"How'd the swap meet go Bianca?" Misty asked.

"Terrific! I managed to trade all three of my Pokemon." Bianca said excitedly. "Let me show you the cute little Karrablast I got for my Shelmet. Go!"

Emerging from Bianca's thrown ball was a floating insect-like creature with red eyes, a blue back, and a yellow chest. Atop its head was a grey helmet with a large ornate blade with a red edge on top, and on the end of its body was a grey metal spiral shell. Thick spiral armor covered its shoulders and its lower arms were narrow lances with red spirals running down them

"What? That's not the Pokemon I traded for!" a very confused Bianca told them.

"Let's see…" Ash replied as he got out his Pokedex.

"Escavalier, the Cavalry Pokemon, and the evolved form of Karrablast." The Pokedex identified. "Using the shell it stole from Shelmet as armor, this Pokemon is able to defend itself from enemies. Its primary weapons are the lances on its arms."

"It took my Shelmet's shell? How did that happen?" Bianca asked.

"It must've happened somehow when they were traded." Ash deduced.

"Did you have to show us a bug?" Misty asked with a nauseated expression.

Suddenly Escavalier turned at thrust its lances at Misty, causing her to cry out. Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario immediately in the insect knight's way to block any attacks it might try on Misty.

"Hey! Cut that out!" Bianca loudly ordered with a stomp of her foot, causing Escavalier to flinch. She sighed and called the bug knight back to its ball. "Sorry guys. I wasn't expecting that. But hey, why don't I make it up to you by showing the Porygon2 I traded my Boldore for?"

"Sure." Misty agreed. "I've never seen that Pokemon before."

"We saw the original Porygon once though." Ash recalled. "That was a pretty cool adventure."

"Yeah, but I had a headache for five days after Pikachu blew up those missiles." Misty noted. "Anyway, go ahead and show us Bianca."

"Okay. Come on out!" Bianca called as she threw out another ball.

Gliding out of the ball was an almost duck-like Pokemon with a smooth body. It was mainly pink with large eyes and a slender neck. Its long smooth beak was blue, as was its underside. On the sides of its body rather than wings was a pair of blue ovular attachments, and attacked to its rear was a blue balloon-like tail. Only a second after Porygon2 emerged however, its body glowed with a white light and it changed shape. The light cleared and the digital life form became more like a humming bird, with the attachments on the sides of its torso now more like wings. Its neck had detached from its body, allowing its head to turn upside-down. Its eyes had become yellow and somehow crazed.

"Huh? What happened now?" Bianca asked.

"Let's find out." Ash answered as he aimed his Pokedex at the digital Pokemon.

"Porygon-Z, the Virtual Pokemon, and the evolved form of Porygon2." The Pokedex identified. "An experimental program was created to enable this Pokemon to explore alternate dimensions. But an error occurred, causing this Pokemon to exhibit very odd behavior."

"So was this program added when Porygon2 was traded?" Misty wondered.

"It says here that the program that causes Porygon2 to evolve is on something called the Dubious Disc." Ash read from the Pokedex. "I guess it must've been holding the disc when it was traded and it activated somehow."

Pikachu and Lucario greeted Porygon-Z in their usual friendly tone. Porygon-Z responded by rapidly twitching all over and giving off an unearthly digital shriek, freaking out everyone in the room. Bianca quickly called the digital creature back to its ball.

"Sorry 'bout that guys." Bianca sighed. "I guess I got a little more than I bargained for with these trades."

"Why don't you show us the last Pokemon you traded for?" Ash suggested.

"Well okay." Bianca agreed. "It's probably the best of the three. Though it'd have to be if I was willing to trade my Emolga for it. Come out Machoke!"

Emerging from Bianca's ball was a very muscular humanoid creature with purplish-grey skin. On the top of its head were three grey ridges like hair and it wore a pair of black shorts with an ornate gold belt. Suddenly Machoke began to glow with a white light and change shape. In seconds the light cleared and the muscular Pokemon's skin had gained a tan muzzle on its face and a second pair of muscular arms. Its skin had turned a lighter shade of grey.

"Cool, a Machamp." Ash identified.

"Oh… wow!" Bianca declared with a look of awe. "Its muscles are amazing!"

"Hey guys." Chili greeted as he walked in. "Oh, cool Machamp. Anyway, before anyone asks I won that tournament I entered."

"Was there a lot of tough competition?" Ash asked.

"Oh yeah, especially at the end." Chili answered. "At the end there was this girl who dressed like a ninja. She was real tough even though she used only Grass-types. She also seemed kinda mad at me for some reason. I can't remember her name though."

"Rio." Ash and Misty said together.

"You beat her in a gym battle and she swore revenge on you, remember?" Misty reminded him.

"You even battled her in the Pokemon World Tournament." Ash added.

"…Oh yeah." Chili finally recalled. "I don't know how she could've slipped my mind. Anyway, after the tournament I heard about something you might be interested in Ash. It seems there's this pair of trainers running around the city and challenging people to double battles left and right. I was thinking later you and I could hunt them down and take them on."

"Who are these trainers?" Bianca asked.

"No one really knows, but they're called Neon and Skybird. And I think you and I could take them on Ash." Chili declared. Ash's only reply was to stand up and head for the door.

"…If anyone needs me I'll be crashing on the couch for a while." Ash told them as he left the room.

"What was that about?" Bianca wondered.

"You got me." Chili shrugged.

"Guys, I think we should leave Black City tomorrow." Misty suggested. "I don't think Ash is having the best time here."

* * *

**Author's Note:** If any moral can be taken from this chapter, it's that even the best Pokemon Trainers can have an off day. Look at what happened with Alder when he battled Ash that one time.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	50. The Shadow of Cyrus, Part 1

**Author's Note:** Apologies for not updating this story in the last few days. I felt like I needed a little downtime. Believe it or not, writing these Pokemon battles can be a little exhausting. Anyway, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I really enjoyed the response it got.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 49: The Shadow of Cyrus, Part 1

The day after Ash's strange battle with Elesa and Skyla, he and his companions had resumed their trek to the Unova League, leaving Black City behind them. Their journey had been mostly silent since leaving the city. Ash had not said one word about what happened when he fought the two gym leaders. He was fine with losing. That was after all part of being a Pokemon Trainer. And he wasn't exactly in peak form when Elesa and Skyla challenged him due to having to tend to Misty and Charizard. But there was just something a little odd about the way he lost. Ash mused that it was perhaps some form of cosmic payback for using Serperior's Attack and Vine Whip combo so often.

"You okay Ash?" Misty asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Huh?" Ash replied upon being snapped from his thoughts. "Oh, I'm fine Misty, but what about you? Don't you need more rest?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine now." Misty assured him as she took his hand. "But I can tell something's been bugging you. What happened in Black City?"

"Hold it right there!" a familiar voice interrupted.

The group looked ahead and saw Elesa and Skyla blocking their path. They were wearing the same outfits they had on when they faced Ash only they had taken off their sunglasses.

"Elesa and Skyla?" a surprised Chili identified. "What're you two doing here?"

"We still have some unfinished business with all of you." Skyla explained.

"Oh c'mon! You two beat me yesterday. What more do you want?" Ash demanded to know.

"I still have a score to settle with your friend Bianca." Elesa explained. "One of the reasons why I lost my fighting spirit was because I lost to her and that weird masked girl. And now that both Sky and I have gotten our edge back it's payback time."

"Just what do you two want with me then?" Bianca asked.

"We challenge you to a double battle!" Elesa and Skyla declared together as they pointed at Bianca.

"Just hold on a minute!" Misty cut in. "Are you two saying that you ganged up on my boyfriend and challenged him to a battle yesterday?"

"Yep, and creamed him." Skyla answered confidently. "That little Pikachu and wimpy Charizard of his didn't stand a chance."

"Okay, that's it!" Misty declared as she stepped up next to Bianca. "It's payback time alright, but you two are the ones who're going to pay. If you're going to challenge Bianca than I'm joining in!"

"Misty?" a surprised Bianca asked.

"Fine by me." Elesa agreed before throwing out a Pokeball. "Let's shine Raichu!"

The fully evolved electric rodent emerged from her ball. Raichu looked over at Pikachu and gave him a wink, causing Pikachu's face to turn red and Lucario to quirk his brow.

"Take off, my Majestic Red Wings, Salamence!" Skyla called as she threw her own ball. The great blue dragon soared out of her ball into the air.

"I'm not holding anything back! Go Suicune!" Misty called. The beast of the north winds emerged from its ball with a roar.

"If Misty's not holding back than neither am I! Go Thundurus!" Bianca called. The thunder dragon burst out of his ball with a roar.

"Bianca, weren't you going to change the Kami Trio back to their Incarnate Forms?" Misty reminded her.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting." Bianca replied. "But hay, I did say I wasn't going to hold anything back."

"T-Thundurus?" a shocked Elesa asked.

"And… Suicune?" an equally shocked Skyla added. "And Ketchum has… WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?"

"If it makes you two feel any better, I don't have a Legendary Pokemon." Chili assured them.

"Oh yeah, that makes us feel a whole lot better." Elesa sarcastically replied. "Raichu! Hit Thundurus with Thunderbolt!"

"Salamence, use Dragonbreath on Suicune!" Skyla commanded.

"Suicune, dodge and use Aurora Beam!" Misty ordered.

Salamence breathed out a stream of purple flames down at Suicune. The water beast swiftly dodged the attack and fired a beam of multicolored light that hit the blue dragon in the face. At the same time, Raichu cried out and zapped Thundurus with a bolt of yellow lighting. But when the attack ended Thundurus was unharmed.

"What the…?" a confused Elesa exclaimed.

"Thundurus' ability while in Therian form is Volt Absorb." Bianca explained. "Which means electric attacks won't do any damage to him. Thundurus, fight back with Dark Pulse!"

"Suicune, use Ice Fang!" Misty commanded.

Thundurus opened his mouth and blasted Raichu was a barrage of dark energy rings. Meanwhile Suicune jumped up with a mouth pouring with icy mist and bit down on Salamence's left wing, causing a patch of ice to form.

"Raichu, use Nasty Plot and Focus Blast!" Elesa commanded.

"Dodge and use your own Focus Blast!" Bianca ordered.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Skyla commanded.

"Hit it with Aurora Beam!" Misty ordered.

Raichu recovered from Thundurus' attack and her eyes began to glow with an odd purple light. Getting up on her hind legs Raichu formed a large blue-green ball of light that she threw up at Thundurus. The thunder dragon easily dodged the attack and threw back a blue-green ball of light of his own. Raichu was hit and knocked into the air by the explosion. When the rodent hit the ground she was out cold.

At the same time, Salamence flew top speed at Suicune with her claws glowing with a blue light. Suicune charged at Salamence and fired another multicolored beam that hit the dragon in the face at close range. Upon being hit Salamence crashed to the ground and was unconscious.

"Darn!" Elesa exclaimed as she called back Raichu. "I really thought I could beat her this time."

"Don't feel bad Elesa, they both had Legendary Pokemon you know." Skyla pointed out after calling back Salamence. "Besides, we beat Ketchum yesterday. We can just get Bianca another time. So cheer up, okay?"

"Yeah, okay Sky." Elesa smiled.

With that two gym leaders suddenly met in a deep open-mouthed kiss. Ash and Chili looked on with jaws that were hanging down. Bianca too was quite surprised by this display of affection.

"Huh, didn't see that coming." Misty shrugged indifferently. "Hey Bianca, didn't you say you were going to change back the Kami Trio after the battle?"

"Huh? Oh right." Bianca recalled. "Go Tornadus, Landorus!"

The wind and land deities flew out of their thrown balls and hovered next to Thundurus. Bianca then reached into her bag and pulled out the Reveal Glass. Upon holding the mirror up to the Kami Trio Bianca began to chant.

_"Take now the form of man, be gone the forms of beast._

_Reveal the forms of modern times._

_Primal powers, now be ceased!"_

A beam of red light shot up from the mirror and hit the three members of the Kami Trio. Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus all glowed with a red light and changed shape. In moments the light cleared and the three Pokemon had returned to their Incarnate Forms. After putting the Reveal Glass back in her bag, Bianca called the Kami Trio back to their Pokeballs.

"You have _three_ Legendary Pokemon?" a surprised Skyla asked.

"That's right, she does." Misty answered for Bianca. "Now if you'll excuse us, we'll be on our way now."

"Not so fast." Elesa told them. "We still have business with Ash."

"What is it you two still want with me?" Ash asked.

"It's not us, but a friend of ours." Skyla explained. "We've been staying at her villa near here while we've been training in Black City."

"Who is this friend?" Misty asked.

"Come with us. We'll introduce you to her." Elesa told them.

With that, Elesa and Skyla led the group down a diverging dirt road that took them up a hill. Atop the hill was a fairly large mansion with tan walls and a reddish-brown roof. From the hill they could all get a very well look at the ocean.

"This place seems pretty out of the way." Chili noted. "Whoever lives here must come here to be alone."

"Sometimes our friend has visitors over like us." Skyla informed him. "Sort of a select few."

"I'm getting tired of these games. Just who is this friend of yours and how is it that I know her?" Ash impatiently demanded to know.

"Actually, we don't know." Elesa admitted. "But we do know that she's been pretty depressed lately, and she reacted pretty badly when Sky and I dropped your name."

At last they came to the patio of the mansion, and as if on cue the occupant of the villa walked out. It was a woman with long blonde hair that went down to her waist. She had on a sleeveless light-blue shirt with black bell-bottom jeans. At a sting tied around her neck was a black water drop-shaped pendant, and at the sides of her head were similarly shaped black hair ornaments. Her skin was almost pale and she had a worn expression on her face. The woman immediately noticed the group's arrival and was shocked when she saw Ash and Misty. Ash and Misty were equally surprised, as they recognized immediately who the woman was.

"Cynthia?" Ash and Misty identified.

"Ash, Misty. What're you…?" Cynthia began to ask.

"Hold on! Cynthia, as in the champion of Sinnoh?" Chili asked.

"That's right." Skyla confirmed with her arms crossed. "And Elesa and I don't know what happened between her and Ketchum, but I have a feeling that he owes her an apology."

"Skyla, Elesa wait. You don't know…" Cynthia began to tell them.

"Me? Apologize to her?" Ash interrupted in a low angry tone. "You two have no idea what she did! It's because of her that Misty almost died!"

"Ash, calm down." A worried Misty told him. His only response was to storm off.

"I need to be alone for a bit." Ash told them as he left. Pikachu and Lucario quickly followed.

"What was that about?" a confused Bianca asked.

"Ash has every right to be angry with me." Cynthia sighed. "I was in love with the man he hated most. And it was because of me that Misty's life was put in jeopardy. Not just Misty, but the who world."

"Wait, are you saying this is because of some guy you dated?" Elesa asked her.

"She's talking about Cyrus." Misty explained. "He was the leader of Team Galactic."

"What's Team Galactic?" Bianca asked.

"They were a gang from Sinnoh who wanted to change the world." Misty answered. "But they didn't know about the kind of world Cyrus really wanted to create. That man… he was evil. Cyrus forced Ash to watch as he tortured innocent Pokemon to further his plans. And he was the one responsible for the death of Ash's mentor, Riley. Ash was never quite the same after what happened with Cyrus."

"But what does Cynthia have to do with all this?" Skyla asked.

"I ended up helping Cyrus with his plans." Cynthia explained. "Cyrus was… very charming when I met him. But as it turned out it was all an act so he could use me to uncover what he needed to try and carry out his scheme to remake the world, and stop Ash from getting in his way. I didn't learn the truth about who Cyrus really was until it was too late."

"So it's because of all this that you've been staying at this villa for the last couple of years?" Elesa asked her.

"Wait, you've been staying here ever since what happened during that time?" a surprised Misty asked.

"I've needed some time alone." Cynthia answered. "As strange as it is, there is still a part of me that's still in love with Cyrus even though it was all a lie. I do know the kind of man he truly was. The Lake Guardians showed me their memories of what Cyrus did to them. I saw it all though their eyes and felt their pain. It still haunts me in my nightmares. But then… so does what happened to Cyrus."

"I guess you were hurt by all that happened just like Ash was." Misty realized.

* * *

A ways down the hill from the villa, Ash was on a small cliff looking out of the ocean. Pikachu and Lucario were standing behind him. Suddenly the spirits of Riley and his Lucario appeared beside Ash on the cliff.

_"I guess I don't blame you for being mad at Cynthia."_ Riley told him. Ash said nothing in response. _"But you have to remember Ash, Cynthia is a victim of Cyrus just like you. Though Cynthia was hurt more because Cyrus toyed with her heart. And it doesn't seem like she's recovered from what happened like you have. But then you've had many others to help you through it, Misty, your Pokemon, your mother, and many others. But it seems that Cynthia has had no one. You might want to think about that for a bit."_

With that, Riley and his Lucario vanished. Almost as soon as they left, Ash closed his eyes and sighed.

* * *

Back at the villa, Misty and the others had sat at the table on the patio to have tea. About forty minutes had passed since Ash left.

"You and your friends are welcome to stay here as long as you like." Cynthia told them. "It is still quite a long way to the Unova League."

"Thanks for the offer, but I think Ash will want to leave as soon as he comes back." Misty pointed out.

"Of course. I understand completely." Cynthia sighed.

"Cynthia!" Ash's voice called, causing the rest of the group to look and see him approaching with Pikachu and Lucario. "I'm challenging you to a battle, right here and now!"

"Ash, are you serious?" a surprised Misty asked.

"You do know that I am still the champion of the Sinnoh Region." Cynthia pointed out.

"Yeah, but I also managed to beat you when you got in my way." Ash reminded her. "And it seems that the both of us have a lot to settle."

"…Fine then." Cynthia finally agreed as she stood up from her chair. "As champion I accept your challenge Ash."

* * *

**Author's Note:** This chapter and the next were two of the first chapters I came up with for this story, since I didn't really resolve things between Ash and Cynthia in Scourge of Galactic. Next time, Ash and Cynthia finally settle some things. Not to mention a lot more foreshadowing. So stay tuned.

For now, please review and let me know what you think.


	51. The Shadow of Cyrus, Part 2

**Author's Note:** A little hard to believe that this is the fiftieth chapter (technically the fifty-first). Yet there's still a long way to go. Anyway, as I said in the last Author's Note, there's going to be some major foreshadowing in this next chapter.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 50: The Shadow of Cyrus, Part 2

Ash and Cynthia had taken their positions out in front of the patio of Cynthia's villa and were ready to do battle. Misty and the others remained sitting at the table and watched with baited breath. There was a lot of tension hanging in the air over this battle. For it was more than just a simple Pokemon battle and it was not simply because Cynthia was the champion of the Sinnoh Region, it was because Ash and Cynthia were about to try and settle the pain left by Cyrus over two years before. His shadow was hanging over the battle and everyone knew it.

"Go Glaceon!" Cynthia called as she threw the first Pokeball of the match.

Emerging from the ball was a fox-like Pokemon with very short light-blue fur, with the fur on its feet and the end of its tail. The inside of its ears were also dark-blue, and it had two dark-blue diamond-shaped spots on its back. On the front of its head was looked like a snowcap of sorts.

"Let's go Lucario!" Ash ordered. The jackal Pokemon nodded and walked onto the battlefield.

"Use Shadow Ball Glaceon!" Cynthia commanded.

"Dodge and use Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered.

Glaceon opened its mouth and fired a crackling ball of black energy at Lucario. Lucario swiftly rolled out of the balls path and threw out an energy ball of his own made of blue light. The Aura Sphere hit Glaceon and knocked the ice fox into the air.

"Now use Bullet Punch!" Ash commanded.

Before Glaceon hit the ground, Lucario rushed in and punched the ice fox in the stomach with a glowing white paw. After the attack hit Glaceon was on its side unconscious. Seeing that there was no fight left in Glaceon, Cynthia called it back to its ball.

"Amazing. Lucario finished off Glaceon with just two moves." Chili commented with awe. "Ash is truly amazing."

"More likely Cynthia's just having an off day." Skyla retorted.

"I think it's both." Misty theorized. "Sure Ash is powerful, but Cynthia's been depressed by what happened with Cyrus. So I don't think she's at the top of her game."

"So are you saying that it could be anyone's battle?" Bianca asked.

"Not unless Cynthia gets her act together." Elesa pointed out.

"You call yourself the Champion of Sinnoh? That was pathetic!" Ash told Cynthia. "You should be harder to beat than this!"

"How 'bout this then? Go Gastrodon!" Cynthia called as she threw out another ball.

Emerging from the ball was a large sea slug-like Pokemon that was brown on the back and the top of its head while the rest of its body was pink. On its face it had three shiny black eyes arranged like a triangle. It had horn on the sides of its head and on the sides of its body were six stubby leg-like limbs.

"Use Earth Power!" Cynthia commanded.

With a flop of its body Gastrodon jumped and the impact of its body on the ground sent a line of cracks at Lucario's feet. A pillar of gold light erupted from the ground beneath Lucario and almost hurled him into the air. When the attack ended the jackal Pokemon was still on his feet but just barely.

"Fight back with Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded. Lucario threw another ball of blue light that hit Gastrodon in the face.

"Finish it with Muddy Water!" Cynthia ordered.

From its face Gastrodon blasted Lucario with a powerful stream of murky brown water. The force of the attack was so great that Lucario was hurled back past Ash and Pikachu. When the attack was over Lucario was on his back unconscious. Ash and Pikachu rushed over to Lucario's side. After a moment Lucario regained consciousness and Ash slowly helped him to his feet.

"Cynthia just turned everything around." An amazed Bianca commented.

"I haven't become as weak as you think I have Ash." Cynthia told him.

"Then prove it. Go Serperior!" Ash called as he threw his next ball. The grass serpent emerged from her ball to face Gastrodon. "Use Leaf Storm!"

Serperior whipped up a leaf-filled tornado and sent it right at Gastrodon. The force of the winds actually lifted the sea slug Pokemon a few inches off the ground. But when the twister past Gastrodon quickly recovered.

"It seems you haven't changed much since our last battle." Cynthia commented. "You're still all power and no strategy. I bet you were hoping that Gastrodon would be finished off by that one attack, but as you can see she's still standing. And because you acted so rashly, Leaf Storm has reduced Serperior's attack power. It's not wise to use such a move so early in battle."

"Serperior, use Leaf Storm again!" Ash commanded.

Serperior raised another twister of leaves and launched it at Gastrodon. This time the slug was picked up a foot into the air by the attack and hurled back to the ground with a loud thud, almost landing on her side.

"What? That's not possible!" a confused Cynthia exclaimed. "Leaf Storm's power should've dropped! What's going on?"

"You're a champion, you tell me." Ash replied.

"…I see. The ability of your Serperior is Contrary." Cynthia realized after a moment. "Which means the attack lose from Leaf Storm is reversed. Gastrodon, fight back with Ice Beam!"

"Dodge and use Leaf Storm one more time!" Ash commanded.

Gastrodon fired a crackling beam of white light from between her eyes at Serperior. The grass serpent quickly avoided the attack by moving her head to the side. She then conjured another tornado of leaves and sent it at Gastrodon. This time the slug was hurled high into the air and slammed back down to the ground. Despite that though, Gastrodon was still conscious.

"Finish with Solar Beam!" Ash ordered.

Serperior glowed as she collected sunlight into her body. When she was finished she blasted Gastrodon in the face with a highly concentrated beam of solar energy that knocked the slug unconscious. With Gastrodon out of the fight Cynthia called the fallen slug back to her ball. With her victory, Serperior looked back at Lucario with a predatory smirk and gave him a wink, causing the jackal Pokemon to go wide-eyed and blush.

"That was a little better, but still not good enough!" Ash told Cynthia. "You really are off your game, you know that?"

"Go Togekiss!" Cynthia called as she threw out her next ball.

Flying out of Cynthia's Pokeball was a fairly large white bird-like creature with a mouth instead of a beak. The bird did not seem to have a visible neck and on its forehead was a three-pointed crest, with the right point having a red tip and the left point having a blue one. Scattered on the bird's underside were small red and blue triangles.

"Use Air Slash!" Cynthia commanded.

Togekiss flew past Serperior at such a high speed that it shattered the windows of her villa. Serperior was hit in the midsection with a powerful blade of air and almost knocked out.

"Wow, what an amazing Togekiss Cynthia has." Skyla commented with awe. "It's no wonder she's champion in the Sinnoh Region."

"Finish it with Extremespeed!" Cynthia ordered.

Togekiss came back around and slashed Serperior with its left wing while flying at top speed. Serperior had a shocked expression before collapsing to the ground a few seconds after being hit. Lucario growled as Ash called the fallen snake back to her ball.

"Let's go Pikachu!" Ash commended.

"Pika!" the electric rodent replied as he dashed onto the battlefield.

"Togekiss, use Aura Sphere!" Cynthia ordered.

"Use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded.

With a flap of its wings Togekiss threw down a ball of blue light that hit where Pikachu was standing and exploded. But when the dust settled Pikachu was nowhere to be seen on the ground. Instead he was high up in the air above Togekiss. As the rodent began to fall back down he flipped in the air and slammed his metal tail into the top of Togekiss' head.

"Now use Electro Ball!" Ash commanded.

Still in freefall, Pikachu flipped again and launched a ball of yellow electricity from his tail like a catapult. The electric projectile hit Togekiss in the stomach.

"Use Extremespeed again!" Cynthia ordered.

As soon as Pikachu landed on his feet, Togekiss flew past at top speed and slashed Pikachu with its wing. Pikachu was hit hard but managed to remain standing.

"Use Thunderbolt!" Ash commanded.

"End it with Air Slash!" Cynthia commanded.

"Pik… a… CHUUUU!" Pikachu cried out as he zapped Togekiss with a bolt of lightning.

Togekiss was hit hard by the attack but recovered as it flew past Pikachu from behind and hit the rodent with a blade of air. Pikachu was knocked to the ground unconscious. Ash quickly rushed in and carried Pikachu off the field. Pikachu regained consciousness after a moment and was set back onto the ground.

"Wow! Cynthia's Togekiss really is powerful." Bianca commented. "Even though it was a Flying-type it managed to take down one of Ash's strongest Pokemon."

"Go Golurk!" Ash called back on the field as he threw out his next Pokeball. The ancient robot burst out of its ball. "Use Fire Punch!"

"Air Slash once more!" Cynthia commanded.

Togekiss began to fly full speed at Golurk and was about to hit the colossus with another blade of air. But when the bird got in range Golurk hit it in the face with a flame-covered fist. Togekiss was knocked to the ground.

"Finish with Heavy Slam!" Ash commanded.

Before Togekiss could get airborne again, Golurk rushed in as it glowed with a strange yellow aura and hurled itself on top of the fallen bird. When Golurk got up, Togekiss was out cold. Cynthia then called Togekiss back to its ball.

"I know you can still do better than that!" Ash told Cynthia.

"What is that you want from me?" Cynthia demanded to know.

"I want to fight you at the top of your game, but I know you haven't been giving me that." Ash answered.

"Come on! Cynthia may be a little off, but she's been fighting her hardest in this battle!" Elesa complained on the sidelines. "What more does Ash expect."

"I think I know." Misty answered with a looked of realization. "I think Ash might be trying to help Cynthia."

"I get it. Ash is trying to reignite Cynthia's fighting spirit." Chili realized.

"I've been battling you with everything I've got." Cynthia insisted on the battlefield.

"But you're still not at your best." Ash argued. "I don't know if it's because you haven't battled for a long time, but the bond you have with your Pokemon doesn't seem as strong as it should be."

"I'll show you how strong my bond is! Go Roserade!" Cynthia called out.

Bursting out of Cynthia's thrown ball was a green humanoid plant-like creature with white rose petal-like hair and a green mask and cape and a yellow collar. It's right hand was in the form of a bouquet of red roses while its left hand was a bouquet of blue.

"Golurk, use Fire Punch!" Ash commanded.

"Dodge and use Seed Bomb!" Cynthia ordered.

Golurk charged at Roserade with a raised fist covered in flames. But at the last second Roserade jumped out of the way of the attack and flipped over Golurk in the air. As Roserade passed it fired a barrage of seedpods from the bouquet of flowers on its arms that exploded as they impacted on Golurk's body.

"Finish with Giga Drain!" Cynthia commanded.

Landing back on the ground behind Golurk, Roserade launched several brown thorny vines from it bouquets that wrapped around Golurk's arms and legs. The ancient robot then glowed with a red aura that was sucked into the vines and went into Roserade. Once the rose Pokemon retracted its vines Golurk fell forward onto its face. Seeing that Golurk was done, Ash called the robot back to its ball.

"You say that my bond with my Pokemon has weakened, yet we've managed to defeat another of your Pokemon." Cynthia pointed out.

"It's still not good enough." Ash insisted as he got out another Pokeball. "Go Charizard!"

Ash's dragon of fire flew out of his ball and landed on the field before Roserade. Charizard roared and breathed out a stream of flames into the air.

"Use Flamethrower on Roserade!" Ash ordered.

Charizard breathed out another blast of flames that hit Roserade in the chest. When the attack was over though, Roserade was still standing.

"Wow, for a Grass-type to take a Fire attack like that and still be on its feet is impressive." Chili commented.

"Roserade, use Poison Point!" Cynthia commanded.

"Attack with Sky Drop!" Ash ordered.

Before Roserade could make a move, Charizard flew in and grabbed the plant Pokemon with his claws. After taking Roserade high into the air Charizard flung it back down to earth. Roserade's impact was strong enough to leave a crater, and when the dust settled the plant Pokemon was unconscious. Cynthia called Roserade back to its ball.

"Go Spiritomb!" Cynthia called out with her next throw.

Bursting out of the ball was a swirling purple mass bound to a small stone. Inside the mass were several green orbs of various sizes that surrounded a hideous face. Ash and Misty recognized the Pokemon right away, for Ash had captured a Spiritomb of his own while traveling though Sinnoh. It had ended up being his first test as an Aura Guardian.

"How the heck did you get that Pokemon?" Ash asked.

"I unwittingly released this Spiritomb while studying some ruins in Sinnoh." Cynthia explained. "Now Spiritomb, use Dark Pulse!"

"Dodge and use Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded.

Spiritomb fired at Charizard with a barrage of black rings, but the fire dragon dodged the attack and flew at the malevolent spirit with blue glowing claws. Spiritomb was almost knocked out of the air but stayed afloat.

"Now use Sky Drop!" Ash ordered.

Charizard grabbed onto the dark spirit and flew higher into the air before flinging Spiritomb back to the ground. Spiritomb landed in the same crater made by Roserade's impact, making it slightly larger.

"Attack with Hyper Beam!" Cynthia commanded.

"Use Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.

Charizard flew down at Spiritomb and spat out another stream of flames. At the same time, Spiritomb hovered back up a few feet and fired a beam of gold light from its mouth up at Charizard. The two attacks impacted and created an explosion of light.

"Charizard, end this with Dragon Claw!" Ash called.

When the light faded Charizard rushed in and slashed Spiritomb in the face with his glowing claws. Spiritomb was knocked out and fell back to the ground.

"Your Pokemon are powerful, I won't deny that." Ash told Cynthia as she called Spiritomb back to its ball. "But it doesn't seem like you're totally in sync. In fact this seems like the first time you've had them out of your Pokeballs for awhile now."

"…You're right." Cynthia admitted after a moment. "I have let them out occasionally to move around, but I haven't been around them as much as I used to."

"You mean you've just shut them out?" Ash asked.

"I… I haven't been able to face them." Cynthia replied, almost on the verge of tears. "Not since the Lake Guardians showed me what Cyrus did to them, since I felt their pain though their eyes. And I can't help but feel responsible somehow for what happened."

"I guess you really were hurt by that bastard as much as Misty and I were. Probably more." Ash realized. "But unlike you I've been able to get through most of it. And the reason I've been able to is because I've had a lot of people were there to help me. I had Misty and many others. But I also had my Pokemon. After that time I spent two years training hard with Pikachu, Lucario, and Ho-Oh. It was by training with them that I was able to deal more with what happened that time. But you've shut everyone out Cynthia, and I can tell you that you'll never get through this alone."

"…I suppose you're right." Cynthia agreed after a moment. "But for right now we have a battle to finish… and I intend to end it! Go Garchomp!"

Flying out of Cynthia's thrown ball was a dragon-like creature that resembled a cross between a shark and a jet plane. It was mainly navy-blue in color, but had a red jaw and chest with a yellow stomach. On the front of dragon's snout was a yellow cross that looked almost like a scar, and on the sides of its heads were appendages that looked like jet engines and gave it the appearance of a hammerhead shark. White spikes adorned its upper arms and legs, and the long wings on its forearms resembled long fins. On Garchomp's back was a large dorsal fin with a notch in it, and its tail had two more fins that made it further resemble a shark.

"That's Cynthia's strongest Pokemon." Misty observed. "Ash told me about it once. He said it was strong enough to even beat Ho-Oh."

"You're kidding!" a shocked Bianca exclaimed.

"Charizard, attack Garchomp with Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded.

"Attack with Stone Edge!" Cynthia ordered.

Charizard flew at Garchomp with glowing claws bared. But at the same time the shark dragon roared and sent a barrage of sharp stones back at Charizard. Charizard was hit but managed to recover and slashed Garchomp in the chest.

"Fight back with Dual Chop!" Cynthia commanded.

Garchomp's wings glowed blue as it flew at Charizard. The dragon slashed Charizard in the side with its left wing and then came back around and slashed the fire dragon again with the right. When it was over, Charizard crashed to the ground and was out cold. With the fire dragon unconscious, Ash called Charizard back to his ball.

"This ends now! Go Ho-Oh!" Ash called as he threw the final Pokeball of the match. The great phoenix soared out of its ball.

"Use Sandstorm!" Cynthia commanded. Garchomp roared and in seconds the entire area was covered by wind and sand.

"That trick's not gonna work on me a second time!" Ash declared. "Ho-Oh, use Sunny Day!"

Ho-Oh shrieked and shot a beam of gold light into the air. The sandstorm was dispelled and the sun overhead was shining brighter than before.

"I see. You really have improved." Cynthia observed with a small smirk. "Garchomp, use Stone Edge!"

"Use Future Sight and Solar Beam!" Ash ordered.

Ho-Oh's eyes glowed blue as Garchomp pelted it with a barrage of stones. Once Garchomp's attack ended the great bird blasted Garchomp with a beam of solar energy, almost knocking the dragon out of the sky.

"Use Dual Chop!" Cynthia commanded.

"Sacred Fire!" Ash ordered.

After becoming shrouded in flames, Ho-Oh flapped its wings and sent a wave of fire at Garchomp. The dragon recovered and flew at Ho-Oh with glowing wings. But before Garchomp could land a blow it glowed with a faint blue aura and was hurled to the earth. With Garchomp's impact came an explosion of blue light that covered the entire area.

* * *

T_he light cleared and Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario all found they were in a familiar overcast sky above a scene they had witnessed before. It was the same vision of the battle in the future they had seen before. What was different this time though was that Cynthia was in the sky with them floating right across from where they were._

_"What's going on?" Cynthia asked._

_"Ash?" Misty's voice interrupted. Ash, his Pokemon, and Cynthia looked to see that Misty and the rest of the group were also present._

_"I've seen this before." Ash informed them. "This is the same vision Ho-Oh showed me after I first caught it. I saw it again when I defeated Bianca in the world tournament."_

_"Hey! What're we doing down there?" a freaked out Skyla asked as she pointed down at their future counterparts on the hill below._

_"It's not just us." Misty observed. "There's Bolt, Lisa, Brock, Sabrina, Morty, Brycen, Rio, and even Alder."_

_"What's that Pokemon floating in the air with the Kami Trio?" Bianca asked as she pointed at the feline Pokemon above the future Ash and his army._

_"That's Mewtwo." Ash explained._

_"Forget about that. What's Team Plasma doing there?" Chili pointed out, noting the several Team Plasma agents that seemed to be part of the army._

_Just then, the two dragons that Ash had seen before in the vision descended and hovered next two Mewtwo and the Kami Trio. One was the dragon that looked like parts of its body were ice that had a man and woman riding it. And the other was the black dragon with muscular arms that had N riding on its shoulder._

_"N's here too?" a surprised Misty asked._

_"What's that dragon that N's riding?" Chili asked._

_"That's Zekrom, the black dragon of ideals." Cynthia identified._

_"This means N is really going to awaken the black dragon." Ash realized._

_"Uh, guys? What about those other people on the beach?" Elesa interrupted._

_Ash and the others looked and saw the Team Rocket army that was on the beach ready to face that of the future Ash. And just like before, their redheaded leader was standing on a large pointed rock jutting out of the ocean._

_"Hey! What's Mars from Team Galactic doing with Team Rocket?" Misty asked upon seeing the former Galactic commander in the ranks of the Team Rocket army._

_Before anyone could venture a guess, the redhead on the rock snapped his fingers and the black dragon-like bird burst up from the depths. Just as before, Ho-Oh and the black creature shrieked at one another._

_"No way! Is that Lugia?" a very surprised Skyla asked._

_"It can't be." Ash told her. "Both Misty and I have seen more than one Lugia. They're white, not black."_

_"Maybe, but white or not that Pokemon is definitely a Lugia." Skyla insisted. "My grandfather has told me lots of stories about Ho-Oh and Lugia from this old book when I was younger. And even though that Pokemon is a different color it looks almost exactly like one of the pictures from that book."_

_Before anyone could argue, the same swarm of purple insect-like creatures from the last time Ash saw the vision flew down and unfolded themselves as they landed and joined the ranks of the Team Rocket army. All of them were at least twenty-four of them from what the group could tell, all with red eyes and armor-like skin, and each one of them had a cannon on its back._

_"What are those Pokemon supposed to be?" Bianca wondered._

_"One thing's for sure, they're bugs." A disgusted Misty pointed out._

_Just then, the future Bianca changed the Kami Trio to their Therian forms and the battle was joined. Ash and the redheaded leader of the Team Rocket army mounted their respective birds and flew at one another as a massive Pokemon battle was joined below._

_"It looks like a war." Cynthia observed._

_"Chosen Heroes!" a mysterious voice suddenly interrupted._

_"Who's that?" Misty asked._

_"Call me crazy, but… I think it's Ho-Oh." Ash told them._

_"Be warned of the great battle that is to come!" the voice continued._

_Just then there was another explosion of blue light and the group found they were in the center of a burning city. Standing before them was a young woman with long raven hair that Ash and Misty recognized as their friend, Lisa Flare. There was another young woman with Lisa, one who had blonde hair. But Ash and Misty did not recognize her even though she seemed somehow familiar. With Lisa was the legendary Entei and her friend had a shadowy Pokemon that for some reason Ash and Misty could not place._

_"Beware the enforcer of fire who hates her own face!" the mysterious voice warned. "Beware the fallen healer who wears a white mask of darkness!"_

_Everyone in the group soon realized that standing before Lisa and her friend was a woman with blue-green hair wearing an eye patch and a Team Rocket uniform with a short skirt and a red vest and gloves. With her was another young woman with pinkish hair who was wearing a costume very similar to Noir Mask's; only the colors were all reversed. The masked girl threw out a Pokeball and from it emerged a swan-like Pokemon with blue body and a gold face and underside. It had two crescent moon-shaped ornaments on the sides of its head, and its glowing pink wings resembled the rings of a planet. It had two wings its sides and a third on its back that looked as if to serve as a method of propulsion._

_"What's that Pokemon?" Misty wondered._

_"I believe it's a Cresselia." Cynthia theorized. "It's a Legendary Pokemon from Sinnoh."_

_As soon as the swan Pokemon emerged, the woman with the eye patch threw out her own Pokeball. Flying out of the ball was a large cream-colored bird with wings covered in flames and a plum of fire atop its head._

_"That's definitely a Moltres!" a shocked Ash identified._

_"There's something about its trainer." Misty noticed. "She looks very familiar but for some reason I can't place her. It's like with that girl with Lisa and the Pokemon she has. It seems like I should know who they are but I can't remember."_

_"I feel like I know the person with Lisa too." Bianca added. "But I can't remember from where."_

_Moltres then blasted at Entei with a stream of black flames from its beak. Entei fought back by breathing out a stream of red flames and after that there came another explosion of blue light. The light cleared and the scene changed again. The watchers found that they were in another urban setting, one that was not on fire. But it was night and the buildings were all blacked out. Standing in the middle of the street was Bolt and Raikou, along with Bolt's band._

_"Beware the empress of lightning driven by the thrill of battle!" the mysterious voice warned._

_Walking up to Bolt and his friends was a young woman with long bright yellow hair wearing a unique Team Rocket uniform. The uniform had a yellow vest and the shirt was short enough to reveal her midriff. She had on long tight black pants and black leather gloves that went up to her elbows. Hanging from the woman's belt was a black whip. Her arms and belly had prominent black lightning bolt-shaped tattoos and she had a smaller one on her left cheek. The young woman threw out a Pokeball and from out of it flew a large bird with a long sharp beak and jagged yellow feathers._

_"That's a Zapdos!" Misty identified._

_Zapdos' trainer cracked her whip and cackled madly and the thunderbird fired a bolt of black lightning at Raikou. Raikou responded with its own bolt of yellow lightning. The two attacks met and created an explosion of blinding light. The light cleared and the scene changed again. This time the group was in a city that looked as if it had completely frozen over looking at a future Misty and Suicune. Brock, Alder, and Rio were with them, as were the future Cynthia and Chili._

_"Beware the soldier of ice who loyally serves her master!" the mysterious voice warned._

_On cue, another young woman began to approach the future Misty and the others. She had long snow-white hair and icy blue eyes. The vest of her Team Rocket uniform was blue and she had a long skirt. The white-haired woman threw a Pokeball, and from it flew a large ice-blue bird with a short grey beak, white belly, and large magnificent wings. Its tail feathers were long and it had a three-pointed crest on its forehead._

_"That's an Articuno!" Ash recognized._

_Articuno fired a crackling beam of black energy from its beak at Suicune. Suicune countered by firing back an Aurora Beam. The two beams hit and there was once again another explosion of blinding light. Ash and the others found they were back in the sky above the battle on the beach. Before them the future Ash was riding Ho-Oh against the mysterious redhead riding the black Lugia._

_"But most of all, beware the Dark One who threatens to destroy the balance of the world!" the mysterious voice warned._

_The black Lugia opened its mouth and fired three beams of black energy surrounded by a vortex of air. The beams became one and struck Ho-Oh in the chest. Just then the icy dragon flew in and blasted the black Lugia with a stream of flames that left a patch of ice on the bird dragon's wing. The black Lugia flapped its wings and shook the ice off. But just then N and Zekrom flew in and hit the bird with a bolt of blue lightning. The black Lugia recovered from the attack and fired another black blast at Ho-Oh. Ho-Oh blocked it with a Sacred Fire attack, creating another blinding explosion of light._

_"The battle will happen!" the mysterious voice warned. "Be warned! And be prepared!"_

* * *

The light cleared and Ash and the others had returned to the normal world. Ho-Oh had since landed on the field and Garchomp was on the ground unconscious. Ash and Cynthia had called back their respective Pokemon and walked towards one another. Misty and the rest of the group quickly joined them.

"Was that really a vision of the future?" Chili wondered.

"It is." Ash confirmed. "And Riley knew about it the whole time."

"Ash, why didn't you say anything about this to me?" Misty asked.

"Because I guess I didn't really believe any of it until now." Ash answered. "Plus I didn't want you to worry."

"I guess we should all be worried now though." Elesa pointed out. "If that vision or whatever it was is really what happens in the future than we're all going to have a real fight on our hands."

"The vision we all saw does in fact match up with a prophecy known in Sinnoh." Cynthia revealed. "It's one that was known amongst the ancient Aura Guardians, which is probably why Mr. Riley knew it as well. The prophecy tells of a battle between Ho-Oh's chosen champion and an army of evil led by one known only as the Dark One."

"Hey, Ash and I heard a prophecy like that too right before we caught Ho-Oh and Suicune." Misty recalled.

"It's probably the same one." Cynthia theorized. "One of the thing I've been doing while staying here has been researching that prophecy. And the connection between Ho-Oh and Arceus."

"Why have you been looking into all this?" Ash asked.

"Because… I wanted to do something to make up for what happened." Cynthia answered. "If I hadn't gotten in your way that day you could've avoided a lot more pain."

"…I'm still mad at you for what happened then." Ash admitted after a moment. "It'll probably take me awhile to get over it. But you were a victim of that bastard too, and Riley would've helped you. So I guess the thing to do is just put what happened behind us and move on."

"I would like nothing better." Cynthia agreed. "And thanks to you I've realized that I'm not alone in all this. I do still have my Pokemon."

"So what're you going to do now?" Misty asked.

"I'm going to travel to Johto to try and learn more about this battle." Cynthia answered. "And I'm going to head there right away. So for now this is goodbye."

"I can give you a ride to Johto in one of my planes." Skyla offered. "Elesa and I should be heading back to Nimbasa City anyway."

"Don't you have a gym to run in Mistralton City though?" Chili pointed out.

"Yeah, but I just fly over there during the day on Salamence." Skyla answered. "The rest of time I live with Elesa now."

"Sky, we should get going if you're going to fly Cynthia to Johto." Elesa reminded her.

"Right." Skyla agreed before throwing a Pokeball. "Take off, my Majestic Red Wings, Salamence!"

The blue dragon flew out of the ball and landed near Elesa and Skyla. The two gym leaders and Cynthia boarded the dragon's back.

"Take care." Cynthia told Ash and the others just before the dragon took off.

Ash and the rest of the group waved as Salamence flew off into the distance. They stayed and watched until the dragon was completely out of sight. Once they were gone Ash and the others headed down the hill to the main road. The group walked in silence with Ash and Misty walking together a few feet behind Bianca and Chili.

"You okay?" Misty quietly asked Ash.

"Yeah, it's just… there's something really bugging me about that vision." Ash answered. "N and Team Plasma looked like they were fighting with us. He was even helping me fight that guy riding the black Lugia."

"What do you think it means?" Misty asked.

"I don't know." Ash answered. "I guess it's just reminding me that I'm still not sure about the kind of person N really is."

* * *

**Author's Note:** So a lot more details were added to the prophetic vision from before. I'm actually afraid that I might've given a little too much away, yet there is still a lot of details that have not been revealed. Plus the Dark One and his generals have pretty much been revealed in my other story, _I Was a Teenage Jenny_. But we know more about who's fighting who in the coming sequel. And before anyone points this out in a review I'm well aware that a shiny Lugia in the games is not black. This is a special Lugia that was the star of one of the Pokemon Game Cube games (and it's already appeared in _I Was a Teenage Jenny_).

Please review and let me know what you think.


	52. Chili's Quest

**Author's Note:** I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews of the last chapter. There were a lot of very accurate guesses about the battle with the Dark One. Anyway, as those of you reading might've guessed by the title, this chapter is going to focus mainly on Chili.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 51: Chili's Quest

The rain fell hard down on Undella Town not far away from Cynthia's villa. Ash and his companions made stopped in the small village to take a break from their trek to the Unova League. They did not just stop because of the weather though. They stopped because Ash had caught the bad cold that Misty had gotten only a few days before. Not surprising considering all that Ash had been through much in the last few days. But it was clear that a break was in order.

The group of travelers had been in a somewhat somber mood since arriving in the town. It was mainly because of the prophetic vision of the great battle that Ho-Oh had shown them at the end of Ash's battle with Cynthia. The vision told them of a great doom that was approaching the world and also left many unanswered questions. What were N and Team Plasma doing fighting along side Ash and the others in the future? Who was the Dark One? And what sort of creature was that black Lugia he was riding?

All of those questions and the promise of battle with a great evil had filled Ash and the others with dread. Especially Chili. Since the vision Chili had begun to question his own strength as a trainer. He had been wondering if he was going to be strong enough to fight in the prophesized battle. Chili had also starting himself to Ash and the others and had started to feel a little inadequate next to them. After all, Misty had Suicune, Ash had both Ho-Oh and Deoxys, and Bianca had all three members of the Kami Trio. Plus Ash and Misty's old friend Bolt had Raikou, and their other friend Lisa had the legendary Entei. And the vision promised that they would be up against trainers with Legendary Pokemon that were at least just as strong if not stronger. The way things were, Chili did not think he could provide much help.

That day, Chili went by himself to the small library in the town and found an old book that talked about the Legendary Pokemon of various regions of the Pokemon World. He came upon a section that covered both Ho-Oh and Lugia. The illustration of Lugia in the book depicted the dragon-like bird as silvery white rather than the black monstrosity from the vision, but there was no doubt in Chili's mind that it was the same Pokemon. From what Chili read in the book, Lugia and Ho-Oh were polar opposites. Lugia was guardian of the seas and the bringers of storms, while Ho-Oh was the guardian of the skies and the ender of storms. It seemed that both birds were equally matched.

"This is certainly the last place I'd expect to find you." A familiar voice spoke, startling Chili and causing him to knock the book off the table. Chili turned around in the chair he was sitting in and saw Rio standing behind him. "Funny seeing you without your little friends."

"Hey! I know you!" Chili quickly realized.

"You mean you actually remember who I am this time?" Rio asked.

"You were in the vision I saw yesterday!" a still clueless Chili replied.

"Vision?" Rio repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right. Hey, do we know each other?" Chili asked. His question caused Rio's expression to change to one of utter rage.

"How can you not remember me after you almost ruined my life?" Rio shouted as she shook Chili by the collar. "We battled one another in two tournaments already! What is it going to take for you to remember who I am?"

"…Oh, Rio." Chili finally realized. "Sorry, I've had a lot on my mind today."

"That is it Chili Colton!" Rio declared. "We're going to battle! And by the time I'm done with you I'll have burned my face into your brain!"

"Can we do it another time?" Chili requested as bent down to pick up the book. "I'm really in no mood to battle right now."

Chili paused when he saw the page the book had flipped to after falling to the floor. It showed a picture of a Pokemon that vaguely resembled a tortoise. It was mainly reddish brown in color and had well developed legs that ended in cross-shaped feet. It had light-grey bands around its ankles and a large mask-like face of the same color that had two fins on the sides of the forehead. Its underside was a dark-grey and its eyes glowed orange-red like fire.

"I've never seen this Legendary Pokemon before." Chili spoke with awe as he placed the book back on the table.

"Oh, that's a Heatran." Rio identified after looking at the book. "It's a Legendary Pokemon from the Sinnoh Region. Surely a Fire-type user like you has heard of it before."

"You mean it's a Fire-type?" Chili asked with surprise. "Wow! I sure wish I had a Pokemon like this on my team."

"Seems you've found something interesting." A familiar voice commented. Chili and Rio looked up to see that it was Alder.

"Hey Alder." Chili greeted. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just passing through." Alder answered. "And I thought while I was here I'd try and look up a certain book. Plus I couldn't help but try and flirt with that librarian. She's quite helpful."

"Isn't the librarian here in her twenties?" Rio pointed out with a somewhat disgusted expression.

"Your point young lady?" Alder replied. "So Chili, where are Ash and your other companions?"

"Oh, Ash is down at the Pokemon Center with a bad cold and Misty and Bianca are with him." Chili explained. "Say Alder, do you know anything about Heatran?"

"As a matter of fact I do." Alder answered as he stroked his chin. "They're said to be rather formidable Pokemon. As a matter of fact there's said to be a small colony beneath Reversal Mountain not far from here."

"Could you take me there?" Chili requested as he suddenly stood up from his chair. "I know this might sound crazy, but I want to try and catch a Heatran."

"You're joking, right?" Rio scoffed. "Heatran is a Legendary Pokemon. And while I have no clue how those friends of yours were able to capture the Legendary Pokemon they have, but I'm sure _you_ have very little chance of capturing one."

"Hmm… I suppose there's no harm in showing you the place where Heatran are said to live." Alder agreed. "The cave is only a short walk away."

With that, Chili left the library with Alder and Rio to go to the mountain Alder spoke of. The attractive brown-haired librarian breathed a sigh a relief as they left. Outside the rain had stopped falling, though the sky above was still grey and overcast. It was not long before the three were out of the town and were heading towards a large grey mountain that was looming before them. After only a twenty-minute walk they came to a large opening in the base of the mountain that led into a deep cave.

The three went inside the dark tunnel, and as they went deeper the temperature inside slowly increased. It was perhaps more than half an hour before they came to a large stone chamber with walls glowing with molten red cracks. In the center of the cave was a tall crud pedestal with a red crystalline rock sitting atop it.

"What is this place?" Chili asked as they went further into the chamber.

"This is the chamber that holds the Magma Stone." Alder explained. "No one really knows what the stone is for. Only that the Heatran are fierce protectors of it. The legends all say that if the stone is removed, Heatran will go on a rampage."

"What's so special about a dumb rock?" Rio wondered as she walked up and lifted the Magma Stone off the pedestal.

As soon as the stone was picked up there was a rumbling sound and suddenly a section of the wall on the opposite side of the chamber glowed molten red and melted away. Crawling on the walls out of the new tunnel was a Heatran. The magma creature quickly skittered up in front of the pedestal and growled.

"Quick! You must put the stone back!" Alder told Rio.

"Not so fast." Chili cut in with an eager expression. "This is just what I came here for. Go Infernape!"

The fire primate burst out of his ball and shrieked as he beat his chest with his fists. Heatran opened its mouth, revealing its glowing molten insides, and breathed out a plum of red flames that hit Infernape in the face.

"Let's start strong Infernape!" Chili called. "Use Close Combat!"

Infernape quickly recovered from Heatran's attack and somersaulted over to the magma creature before hitting it in the face with his feet. The primate flipped around, striking Heatran in the face with his tail, and the delivered a powerful one-two punch with his fists. Heatran recovered and breathed out a stream of fire at Infernape's feet. The flames swirled around the primate and became a pillar of fire that went all the way up to the cave ceiling.

"Don't give up Infernape!" Chili ordered. "Fight back with Focus Blast!"

From within the pillar of flames Infernape shrieked and fired a large ball of blue-green light through the fire. Heatran was struck by the attack and took heavy damage. Chili then saw his opportunity to act.

"Pokeball, go!" Chili called as he threw an empty Pokeball.

The ball struck Heatran and sucked it inside. Chili, Alder, and Rio watched intently as the ball jiggled on the ground. But after a few seconds the ball burst open and Heatran emerged again.

"I'm not giving up!" Chili declared as he threw another empty ball.

The second ball hit and Heatran was sucked in once more. But the ball did not even jiggle once before Heatran burst out again.

"One more time! Pokeball, go!" Chili called out as he threw another ball.

Heatran was struck by the third ball and sucked inside. The ball moved around for the longest time before finally making the sound that signaled a completed capture. With Heatran inside its new ball, the pillar of flames around Infernape vanished.

"Good job Infernape. Return." Chili told the primate as he called him back to his ball. He then went over and picked up Heatran's ball. "I actually have a Legendary Pokemon."

"Does this mean this rock no longer has a guardian?" Rio asked as she quickly placed the Magma Stone back atop its resting place.

"Not at all." Alder answered. "I told you that there's said to be a whole colony of Heatran living beneath this mountain. In fact if I'm not mistaken, the Heatran Chili just captured is male."

"Then I guess it's okay that I captured this one." Chili assumed.

"I have no doubt about that." Alder agreed. "But I am curious Chili, why was it so important for you to capture a Heatran?"

"It's a long story." Chili replied.

"Well it's a long walk back to town." Alder pointed out. "Why don't you tell us all about it on the way."

As the three left the cave, Chili told Alder and Rio about the vision he and the rest of Ash's group saw of the great battle. He told them of the black Lugia, and of the army of Team Rocket soldiers led by the Lugia's trainer. Chili also mentioned the strange purple insect Pokemon with back mounted cannons, and that Alder and Rio were also part of the battle. By the time they reached the Pokemon Center where Nurse Joy tended to Infernape and Heatran, Chili had finished his recounting of the vision.

"Do you really expect us to believe this nonsense?" a very skeptical Rio asked.

"I'm telling you it's the truth." Chili insisted as Nurse Joy brought back his Pokemon.

"I've never heard anything about this prophecy before. But Ho-Oh's ability to foretell the future is well known." Alder told them. "Therefore I have no doubt that the vision you saw is true. Even so Chili, having a Legendary Pokemon alone is not what makes a trainer strong. You of all people should've learned that from what happened in the Pokemon World Tournament."

"Yeah, I know. But… after seeing what we were up against in that battle… I didn't think I had what it took to face it." Chili admitted. "I felt like I needed an edge."

"There you are Chili!" Misty's voice cut in. Chili and the others looked to see Misty standing not far away with Bianca and Ash. "Where the heck have you been?"

"Sorry guys. There was something I felt I needed to take care of." Chili explained.

"Hello Misty, Bianca." Alder greeted.

"Oh, hi Alder." Misty greeted back upon realizing the Unova Champion's presence.

"Ash, how are you feeling?" Alder inquired.

"Better than I was this morning." Ash shrugged.

"Hey Ash, if you're really feeling better how 'bout battling me and the new Pokemon I just caught?" Chili requested.

"I could actually go for a Pokemon battle right now." Ash agreed.

"Ash, are you sure you're up to it?" Misty asked with a worried expression.

"Relax Misty. A good battle will do me good." Ash assured her.

"In that case, why don't we go out front and I'll referee." Alder suggested.

In moments the group was out in front of the Pokemon Center. Ash and Chili had taken their positions.

"This will be a one-on-one battle!" Alder declared. "Both challengers… begin!"

"Go Heatran!" Chili called out. The metal magma creature emerged from his ball.

"No way! A real Heatran?" a surprised Bianca asked.

"Where did Chili get that Pokemon?" an equally shocked Misty wondered.

"Just when I think you can't surprise me." Ash chuckled softly before throwing a Pokeball. "Go Charizard!"

The fire dragon flew out of his ball and landed on the field before Heatran. Charizard roared and shot a stream of flames into the air upon seeing the rival Fire Pokemon.

"Okay Heatran, use Lava Plum!" Chili commanded.

"Fight back with Flamethrower!" Ash ordered.

Heatran breathed out a plum of red fire at Charizard as the dragon fought back with his own stream of flames. The two attacks hit midway and caused a small explosion.

"Use Fire Spin!" Chili ordered.

"Dodge and use Focus Blast!" Ash commanded.

Heatran spat out a stream of flames at the ground to form a pillar of swirling flames. But Charizard quickly flew out of the way and came in fast from the magma creature's right. At close range, Charizard threw a large ball of blue-green light that hit Heatran in the side and almost knocked him over.

"Now use Sky Drop!" Ash ordered.

Charizard came in quick for another pass and grabbed Heatran by the back. The fire dragon flew high into the air before flinging Heatran back to the ground. The molten steel Pokemon hit the ground with enough force to cause a large crater.

"Finish with another Focus Blast!" Ash commanded.

With Heatran still on his back, Charizard flew in close and fired another blue-green energy ball. The attack hit Heatran and caused a small explosion, and when the smoke cleared he was out cold.

"Heatran is unable to battle!" Alder declared. "Victory goes to Ash and Charizard!"

Charizard landed back on the ground as Chili called Heatran back to his ball. The dragon roared in triumph and blasted flames into the air over his latest victory.

"Well, I guess I should've expected that." Chili sighed.

"Don't feel too bad Chili." Alder told him. "I'm sure with a little training both you and Heatran will become stronger."

"Yeah, you're right." Chili agreed. "I just hope it's in time though."

"Ah, so you're still worried about that vision." Alder observed. "I'm guessing that's what all of you are worried about."

"It's all I've been able to think about, actually." Bianca admitted.

"Well then let me ask all of you this, just when did the events of this vision look like they took place?" Alder inquired.

"I think it was a few years from now." Misty recalled.

"Then it seems like we all have a long time to prepare." Alder pointed out. "But worrying about it all the time won't do any good. What we all need to do is just keep on doing what we normally would and have faith that we'll be ready for this battle when it finally comes."

"I guess we won't be ready at all if we do nothing but worry about it." Ash realized. "Thanks Alder."

"No problem at all." Alder replied. "Well, it's getting late in the day and I should be going. See you all later."

"Thanks for your help Alder." Chili told him as he walked off. With Alder gone, Chili turned back to Rio. "Well Rio, still up for that battle?"

"Please, I'd have to be crazy to face you as you are now." Rio told him. "None of the ninja techniques I've learned would be any good against Heatran. To beat you now, I'll have to capture a Legendary Pokemon of my own. And once I do I'll return and give you the vengeance you deserve."

"I look forward to that." Chili replied. "Hey, you know I think I'm starting to remember when you first came the gym my brothers and I used to run."

"Really?" Rio asked with a slight look of surprise.

"Yeah, you were wearing this fancy pink dress and a string of pearls. Come to think of it I thought you looked pretty cute." Chili recalled. His comment caused Rio's face to turn bright red.

"Uh… don't think that flattery will get me to back off on my quest for revenge!" a flustered Rio told him. "One day I will make you pay for what you did to me!"

Rio then threw a smoke bomb to the ground that exploded with a bright flash. When the smoke cleared she was long gone.

"I think I'm starting to get what this whole rivalry is about." Misty remarked with a sly expression.

"Really? What?" a clueless Ash asked.

"Never mind." Misty groaned with a heavy sigh.

"Anyway guys, how 'bout we get back on the road first thing tomorrow?" Ash suggested.

"I'm up for that." Chili enthusiastically agreed with a fist pump. "Right now I feel ready to take on the world."

* * *

**Author's Note:** It was sort of suggested to me in a review that Chili should capture a Legendary Pokemon. I toyed with the idea a bit and later realized that our heroes' path to the Unova League would take them past Heatran's hangout in Black and White 2. So I worked it in. I also ended up developing Chili and Rio's relationship a bit more.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	53. Aquatic Exhibition

**Author's Note:** In this chapter I ended up trying something just a little different. There's sort of been a last minute subplot that was put in. Anyway, this chapter is going to focus mostly on Misty.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 52: Aquatic Exhibition

Five days after Chili captured Heatran the trek of Ash and the others to the Unova League took them to Humilau City. Deciding to rest in the seaside community for a day, Ash and Chili went to the outskirts of the city to do some training. Meanwhile, Misty and Bianca had decided to do some training of their own by having a double battle. Bianca was using Machamp and Porygon-Z, while Misty was taking her on using Dewott and the Kabuto she had revived from the Dome Fossil Ash had given her after the Twist Mountain Fossil Rally. The battle had been going on for ten minutes and was nearing its end.

"Porygon-Z, use Signal Beam on Dewott!" Bianca commanded. "Machamp, finish Kabuto with Low Kick!"

"Kabuto, Dewott, use Aqua Jet!" Misty ordered.

Before Bianca's two Pokemon could make a move, both Dewott and Kabuto became shrouded in water and took off full speed, ramming into their opponent's chests. Porygon-Z crashed to the ground unconscious while Machamp fell on his back and was out cold.

"That was a close battle." Bianca commented as she and Misty called back their respective Pokemon. "I almost had you there."

"Yeah. For a second I thought you were going to beat me." Misty agreed. "You really have gotten good Bianca."

"Excuse me, Miss?" a voice from behind interrupted.

Misty and Bianca looked to see a boy who looked to be about ten. He had shaggy brown hair and was wearing a green ball cap with a baggy orange-red t-shirt with a thin black horizontal stripe in the middle and olive-green shorts.

"What's up kid?" Misty asked.

"Well my name's Kenny. And I was wondering if you were the leader of this city's gym." The boy explained. "If so, I'd like to challenge you to a gym battle."

"Sorry, but I'm not the person you're looking for." Misty informed him.

"Wait, there's a gym in this city?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah. It just opened not too long ago." Kenny explained. "I went there earlier today for a gym battle, but the place was closed. So I decided to go look for the gym's leader. The only thing anyone knows about the leader though is that he or she uses Water Pokemon. I saw your battle and thought you might be it."

"Well my family does run a gym in Cerulean City back in Kanto, but I have nothing to do with the gym here." Misty told him.

"Darn. Well, I guess I'll keep looking then." Kenny sighed. "Thanks for your help." With that, he walked off.

"So there's a new Water-type gym here in this city." An intrigued Misty observed. "Bianca, if you don't mind, I'd like to go check this out."

"Sure. I'll come with." Bianca agreed.

* * *

Ash and Chili's training battle just outside the city was nearing its conclusion. Chili was using Heatran while Ash and sent out Charizard.

"Okay Heatran use Stone Edge!" Chili commanded.

"Dodge and use Focus Blast!" Ash ordered.

Heatran roared and fired up a barrage of sharpened rocks at Charizard. The fire dragon easily evaded the attack and threw down a large ball of blue-green light. Heatran was hit and the resulting explosion knocked him on his side. With the battle at an end Charizard landed and let out a triumphant roar as he fired a stream of flames into the air.

"Well, I guess that's another win for you." Chili observed as he went over to tend to Heatran. "At least I got Heatran to learn Stone Edge."

"Yeah, and it looks like Charizard's fully regained his fighting spirit." Ash added.

The conversation was interrupted when a large bird almost like a vulture or crane landed near them. Its body was covered in silver armor rather than feathers and it had a beak full of fangs. Its tail was a single blade with a notch in it and its unfolded wings had sharp red blade-like feathers.

"What's a Skarmory doing here?" Chili wondered.

"It seems my eye in the sky has found a formidable pair of trainers." A voice observed.

Walking up next to Skarmory just as Heatran had regained consciousness was a young man who looked to be around Ash's age. He had slightly long silver-white hair and deep iron-grey eyes. The young man had on a blue jacked with a grey turtleneck shirt and white slacks. A cool calm expression was on his face. Walking at the young man's side was a fairly large insect-like Pokemon with a humanoid build. It had a red metal exoskeleton and pincers on its arms, each with a pair of large yellow eyespots. The Pokmeon's eyes were yellow and it had three horns on the top of its head. On its back was a pair of small blades where wings would be placed. Ash quickly recognized the Pokemon as a Scizor.

"A Heatran, a Charizard, a Lucario, and a fairly unique Pikachu." The young man observed, still with a calm expression. "Between the two of you, you have quite an assortment of strong Pokemon."

"Who are you?" Ash asked as he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"My name is Zack Razor." The young man greeted with a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I hope I haven't interrupted your training."

"Nah, we were just wrapping up." Chili replied. "We were having a battle so I could teach Heatran Stone Edge."

"I see. Tell me, have you taught Heatran to use Flash Cannon?" Zack inquired.

"Flash Cannon?" Chili repeated.

"Allow me to demonstrate." Zack offered as he got out a Pokeball. "Go forth, Bastiodon!"

Bursting out of Zack's thrown ball was a fairly large mainly yellow creature that looked like a cross between a dinosaur and a bulldozer. Its feet, tail, and the ridge of its back were black, as was its large head. The Pokemon's head resembled a shield modeled after a castle wall, with yellow spots on the forehead shaped like the windows. On the each side of the bridge of its nose was a long white tusk, and from its large jaw protruded a row of teeth with rounded ends. With Bastiodon out of its ball, Zack picked up a fairly large stick that was next to his feet on the ground.

"Bastiodon, use Flash Cannon!" Zack commanded as he flung the stick into the air.

Bastiodon opened its mouth and fired a sparkling beam of white light up at the stick, completely destroying the target. With the demonstration complete, Zack called Bastiodon back to its ball.

"That move should prove useful to you." Zack told Chili.

"Wow, thanks for showing us that." An impressed Chili replied. "Heatran and I will work hard on learning that move."

"I have no doubt. In the meantime, I was wondering if you would favor me with a battle." Zack requested. "I would enjoy seeing what you and your Heatran are capable of."

"What do you say Heatran, you up for it?" Chili asked. Heatran turned around to face Zack and small flames emanated from his mouth to show his excitement. "Okay then. You're on Zack!"

"Very well. Go Forth Empoleon!" Zack called as he threw another Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was a large penguin with wings rimmed with blue blades. Around its neck it had a sort of blue collar with a piece that extended down the length of its torso, giving the impression that it had on a tuxedo. Extending up from its upper beak was a trident-like crest that made the bird look like it was wearing a sort of crown.

"Bring it on!" Chili dared with the pump of his fist.

* * *

After getting directions from the Pokemon Center, Misty and Bianca found themselves at Humilau City Gym. But just as Kenny had told them, the doors were locked and it did not seem like anyone was inside.

"Maybe the gym isn't ready to open yet for some reason." Bianca theorized. "Like it isn't set to open for a couple months still."

"That could be." Misty agreed.

"Yo, 'sup ladies?" a voice from behind greeted.

Misty and Bianca turned around to see a man with dark-tan skin, dark-blue hair, and sapphire eyes. He had no shirt and wore a pair of tight light-blue pants with what looked like fins on the sides of the ankles. Slung over his shoulder he had a net containing several Pokeballs.

"Who're you?" Bianca asked.

"The name's Marlon." The man replied. "How can I help you ladies?"

"Well I'm Misty and this is Bianca. And we were wondering if you knew anything about this gym's leader." Misty explained.

"Oh yeah, that'd be me." Marlon revealed. "Just got the place up and runnin' last week."

"So, why is the gym closed then?" Misty inquired.

"I was out swimmin' and lookin' for Pokemon." Marlon explained as he rubbed the back his head. "Guess I just lost track a time. Well, I gotta run to the Pokemon Center. See you ladies later, 'K?" With that, he walked away.

"What… the… hell?" a shocked and appalled Misty asked. "_He's_ supposed to be a gym leader?"

"He didn't seem that bad." Bianca remarked.

"Are you kidding me? The guy spends all his time swimming and bumming around instead of taking on challengers!" Misty exclaimed, almost shouting. "He's probably as bad as my sisters!"

"But don't your older sisters run your family's gym?" Bianca recalled.

"Yeah, but they don't do a good job at it." Misty confirmed in a calmer tone. "They used to battle trainers who came to the gym. But after they lost a few battles they started putting on shows instead and now just hand badges out to the trainers that show up."

"Haven't you done anything about it?" Bianca asked.

"Oh believe me, I've told them thousands of times that they weren't doing a good job at the gym. But they never listen to me." Misty replied. "After all, I'm the youngest. Besides, they're all just a bunch of airheads."

"Gee, it sounds like you don't get along with your sisters very well." Bianca observed.

"No I don't." Misty admitted. "In fact… it's been a few years since I've spoken to them."

"What happened?" a surprised Bianca asked.

"One day they called me and told me they won a cruise around the world. So they expected me to just drop everything I was doing and go take over the gym while they went to go have fun." Misty explained with a sigh. "I pretty much told them to go to hell. That was the last time we ever spoke."

"Why'd you say no?" Bianca asked. "That could've been your chance to change the gym into what it should be."

"Well you see… that call came the day after Ash and I got back from Sinnoh." Misty revealed.

"Oh, and you and Ash had just survived encountering that man Cyrus." Bianca realized.

"There was no way I could've left Ash, not even for the gym." Misty confirmed with a look of sadness. "He needed me a lot more at that time. Besides, I was sick and tired of my sisters always dumping everything on me."

"Does Ash know anything about this?" Bianca hesitantly inquired.

"No, I've never told him." Misty answered. "At first it was because I didn't want him to feel guilty. But now… well, I guess it doesn't matter right now. I may have let one Water Pokemon gym go bad, but won't watch another one go down hill if I can help it! I'm going to go give that Marlon a piece of my mind!"

* * *

Chili's battle with Zack was nearing its conclusion. Despite Chili's best efforts he and Heatran had not been able to do much damage to Zack's Empoleon.

"Finish this Empoleon!" Zack commanded. "Hydro Cannon!"

Empoleon opened its beak and suddenly a ball of water began to form. When the water sphere grew three times larger than Empoleon's head, the penguin fired it at Heatran. The sheer force of the attack knocked the magma creature on its back and left him unconscious.

"You fought very." Zack assured Chili as they called back they're Pokemon. "Do not feel bad about your defeat. My Empoleon has been with me since the start of my journey as a trainer."

"That must mean you're from Sinnoh." Ash deduced.

"I am indeed from the Sinnoh Region." Zack confirmed. "But I have traveled to many other regions just as you have, Ash Ketchum."

"How do you know who I am?" Ash asked, growing more suspicious.

"You've gained quite a reputation here in Unova." Zack revealed. "Many know of your victory in the Pokemon World Tournament, and that your opponent was the young lady who has captured the legendary Kami Trio. They also know that you possess the sacred bird, Ho-Oh, and the rare space Pokemon, Deoxys. There's even a rumor going around that you've defeated the champion of Sinnoh. And there is one other place where I know you from."

"And just where is that?" Ash asked.

"I will tell you… if you battle me." Zack told him.

"Fine then." Ash agreed. "I'll take you on."

"Very well. Go forth… Cobalion!" Zack called as he threw out another Pokeball.

Charging out of the ball was a large very regal-looking goat-like animal that stood at a height of almost seven feet. It was mainly aqua-blue in color and had a blue-grey snout. The Pokemon's horns were golden-yellow and in the shape of lightning bolts, and on the front of its long neck was a long tuft of white hair. On both of its shoulders Cobalion had golden-yellow fin-like blades, and had a similar blue-grey blade serving as its tail. Its lower legs were blue-grey with black feet and a black band near the top, making it look as though Cobalion was wearing metal boots.

Cobalion gave Ash and his Pokemon a glare, causing Charizard to roar. But Lucario raised an arm in front of Charizard and stepped up before the horned beast, taking a fighting stance. Ash meanwhile got out his Pokedex to find out what he was dealing with.

"Cobalion, the Iron Will Pokemon." The Pokedex identified. "Cobalion is known for having a heart and body of steel and is known to act calm and composed. Legends say that Cobalion once battled against humans who were harming Pokemon, and that its glare can make even the most rebellious Pokemon obey."

"Ash, Cobalion's a Legendary Pokemon!" a shocked Chili informed him.

"Your friend speaks the truth." Zack confirmed. "Cobalion is the leader of a group of Pokemon known as the Swords of Justice. In ancient times, the Swords of Justice fought against humans who hurt Pokemon and destroyed their homes."

"So how did you end up with Cobalion?" Ash asked.

"I encountered it while exploring the Mistralton Cave." The silver-haired trainer revealed. "Having a mistrust of humans it challenged me, and in the heat of battle I captured it. Afterwards I quickly established a bond with Cobalion by showing it how much I cared for other Pokemon."

"Okay then. Let's do it Lucario!" Ash commanded. Lucario responded with a nod and a growl.

"This should be interesting." Zack remarked. "Cobalion, use Sacred Sword!"

The horned beast charged at Lucario as a long blade of blue light extended from its forehead. In one swift movement, Cobalion slashed Lucario diagonally across the chest. Lucario cried out and fell to one knee clutching his left shoulder.

"Aw man, that's nuts!" Chili exclaimed.

"Hang in there, Lucario!" Ash called. Lucario gritted his teeth and got back up.

"I didn't think you would go down so easily." Zack commented.

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered.

* * *

Misty and Bianca arrived back at the Pokemon Center to find Marlon at the counter flirting with Nurse Joy. Enraged even more by the sight, Misty stormed up with Bianca following a foot behind with a grim expression.

"Hey!" Misty called almost shouting, getting Marlon's attention.

"Oh, 'sup Misty?" a clueless Marlon greeted.

"So is this what you do all day when you're not swimming around?" Misty demanded to know. "Don't you even care about your gym?"

"Oh dude, I get it now!" Marlon realized as he lightly slapped his own forehead. "You must be here for a gym battle."

"No I'm not. But I know that a lot of trainers passing through here are." Misty told him. "You should be ashamed of yourself for not being there at your gym to take them on!"

"Whoa, chill." Marlen replied as he defensively raised his hands. "You know you're really harshin' my mellow right now."

"Uh, you'll have to forgive Misty." Bianca interrupted with a diplomatic tone. "She's just a little concerned that you're running your gym the way you should be. You see her family runs a Water Pokemon gym in Kanto."

"No way! For reals?" Marlon enthusiastically asked. "Hey, in that case how 'bout we have a little battle down at my gym?"

"Gladly." Misty agreed. "I'll be happy to teach you a thing or two."

* * *

Ash and Zack's battle raged on as Lucario and Cobalion continued to trade blows. Though Lucario had taken heavy damage early in the battle, both he and Cobalion had proven to be evenly matched. Lucario had the edge in speed, yet Cobalion's defenses were quite strong. They had both taken heavy damage and it seemed that the battle would soon be coming to an end.

"Finish with Iron Head!" Zack commanded.

"Block with Bullet Punch!" Ash ordered.

Cobalion charged full speed at Lucario as its horns began to glow with a white light. At the same time Lucario leapt in with a raised fist glowing in white. Both attacks collided with a loud clanking sound, sending both combatants back five feet.

"Let's end this Lucario!" Ash decided. "Bone Rush!"

Still trying to catch his breath, Lucario formed his metal bone weapon in his right hand and charged back in. The jackal Pokemon relentlessly whacked Cobalion in the face with his club. Eventually Lucario's assault ended, and after a few seconds Cobalion collapsed on his side.

"Most impressive." Zack praised with a small smirk as he called Cobalion back to its ball. "You are indeed worthy of the reputation you have received Ash."

"Thanks. You're pretty good yourself." Ash replied, still eyeing Zack with suspicion. "Now about what you said before our battle."

"Ah yes. Perhaps it would be easier if I simply showed you." Zack decided as he pulled out another Pokeball. "Go forth, Bronzong!"

Emerging from the ball was a fairly large and ornate floating blue bell. It had a pair of flat arms near its top and a pair of round red eyes and a small rectangular mouth near its base.

"Bronzong, use Future Sight!" Zack commanded. The bell Pokemon's eyes glowed blue and in seconds the group was enveloped in a blue light.

* * *

_The light faded and Ash and the others found themselves floating in a familiar stormy sky. Before them they saw a future Ash and Ho-Oh in the sky doing battle with the black Lugia and its redheaded trainer._

_"It's that big battle Ho-Oh showed us before." Chili immediately realized._

_"So you have seen this before." Zack observed. "I supposed I shouldn't be surprised considering Ho-Oh's power. Anyway, look to the battlefield beneath you."_

_Chili, Ash, and the Pokemon present looked below to where Zack was pointing down on the battlefield. They saw a future version of Zack along side Cobalion and Scizor doing battle with a pair of Team Rocket members. One of the purple mechanical Bug Pokemon joined in on the battle and fired the cannon on its back at Cobalion, hitting the horned Pokemon with a beam of red light. Cobalion retaliated by charging at the insect and slashing it with a blue blade of light from its forehead. Before the battle could proceed any further there was another blinding blue flash._

* * *

Ash and the others were back outside the city. With the vision over, Zack called Bronzong back to its ball.

"Bronzong showed me that vision not long after I captured Cobalion." Zack revealed. "When I saw you both battle in the Pokemon World Tournament I knew you were a part of it. It seems that our destinies are connected."

"Well if that's true than I guess that means we're on the same side." Ash realized. "Sorry I was a little suspicious. I thought there was something a little off about you when you showed up."

"It's quite understandable." Zack replied.

"Hey Ash, we should probably get back to Misty and Bianca." Chili suggested.

"If it's all right, I'd like to accompany you." Zack requested. "I would like to meet your friends, as they seem to be part of our shared destiny too."

"Sure, come on with." Ash agreed. As soon as Ash can Zack called back Charizard and Skarmory they were off.

* * *

Misty and Bianca arrived at the gym with Marlon. The aquatic gym leader led the two out to a large pool area out behind the gym, connecting to the ocean. Within the enclosure were four large circular platforms for the Pokemon to stand on if needed. Misty quickly realized that the enclosure served as the gym's primary arena. But what she couldn't figure out was why in needed to be so big.

"How 'bout just a friendly one-on-one battle?" Marlon suggested.

"Fine by me." Misty agreed as both she and Marlon took their positions across from one another around the pool.

"Hey, where's the referee?" Bianca asked.

"Oh, he won't be here for another week." Marlon explained. "That's why the gym's been closed. Anyway, no big deal since this is just a friendly battle, right?"

"Uh, right." A somewhat surprised Misty agreed. "Hey, why didn't you mention that before?"

"Slipped my mind I guess." Marlon assumed as he rubbed the back of his head. "So we doin' this or what?"

"Oh, right. Let's go Dewott!" Misty called as she threw a Pokeball. The samurai otter emerges and takes a spot on one of the platforms in the enclosure.

"Go Mantine!" Marlon called out with his own throw.

Flying out of the ball was a fairly large manta ray-like Pokemon that was dark-blue on top and grey on its underside. It had a long streamer-like tail and hovered over the water.

"Okay Dewott, use X-Scissor!" Misty commanded.

"Hit it with Confuse Ray!" Marlon ordered.

Before Dewott could make a move, Mantine fired a pinkish-purple ray from between its two antenna. Dewott was hit in the face and began to stagger around the platform.

"Okay Mantine, use Air Slash!" Marlon commanded.

As Dewott struggled to remain standing, Mantine flew past at high speed and hit Dewott with a sharp blade of air, knocking him off the platform into the water. After a moment, Dewott managed to get back onto the platform.

"Don't give up Dewott!" Misty called. "Use Aqua Jet!"

After shaking off his confusion, Dewott became shrouded in water and took off into the air. The samurai otter managed to hit Mantine in the chest before flying onto another platform.

"Fight back with Scald!" Marlon commanded.

Mantine quickly recovered from Dewott's attack and blasted the otter with a stream of piping hot water from its mouth. Once the attack had ended a red mark appeared on Dewott's right shoulder.

"Oh no. It looks Dewott was burned." A worried Bianca observed on the sidelines.

"Hang in there!" Misty called.

Dewott cried out and suddenly began to glow with a brilliant white light and change shape. The light soon cleared and Dewott had become a fairly large blue four-legged sea-lion-like animal with a grayish-blue underside and a fan-like tail. Long white whiskers grew from his snout and chin like a beard, and atop his head he wore a beige helmet-like seashell with a long spiked blade on the front. The front of each of his legs had beige segmented plates of armor. Bianca got out her Pokedex to find out what Dewott had become.

"Samurott, the Formidable Pokemon, and the evolved form of Dewott." The Pokedex identified. "A single glare from this Pokemon is enough to silence everyone, and its cry can intimidate even the most hardened opponents. A single slash from Samurott's sword can bring down enemies in an instant."

"Okay Samurott, use Revenge!" Misty commanded.

An angered Samurott jumped into the air with his right front paw glowing with a red light. The samurai sea lion struck Mantine in the top of the head with a powerful punch, almost knocking the manta ray Pokemon into the water.

"Finish it with Razor Shell!" Misty ordered.

Faster than anyone could see, Samurott pulled a pair of large swords from the armor on his front legs. The blades of the swords began to glow blue and became longer before Samurott leapt back up at Mantine. With one X-shaped slash, Samurott hit Mantine in the back, knocking it out of the air. Mantine hit the water and was out cold. Afterwards, Marlon called the manta ray back to its ball. Misty called back Samurott and the two aquatic trainers met half way at the side of the arena.

"That was a totally awesome battle." Marlon declared. "You're one cool Water Pokemon Trainer."

"Thanks. You're pretty good too." Misty admitted. "Sorry I assumed you weren't taking your position as gym leader seriously."

"Hey no worries." Marlon assured her. "I know I can be a little flaky sometimes, but I always take battles seriously."

"Well I hope your gym becomes a huge success." Misty told him.

"You know, it actually could be with your help." Marlon suggested in a suave manner as he suddenly took Misty's hand. "Why don't you stay here and we could run the gym together? We'd make a totally awesome team. What do ya say?"

"Hey! Lay off!" Ash's voice cut in.

Misty and the others looked to see Ash standing nearby with Chili and Zack. Ash angrily stormed up and got between Misty and Marlon.

"What the hell do you think you're doing hitting on my girlfriend?" Ash demanded to know.

"Whoa! Chill bro. I didn't know she was spoken for." Marlon told him as he raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, how 'bout we just cool off with a battle?"

"Oh we're gonna battle alright! And it's gonna be a slaughter!" Ash declared.

Marlon and Ash took their positions on the opposite sides of the enclosure. Misty and the others meanwhile went to the side to watch.

"I kinda feel sorry for Marlon." Bianca admitted. "First Misty gets mad at him because she doesn't think he's doing a good job as a gym leader, and now Ash is mad at him."

"To be fair, Marlon did cross a line." Zack pointed out. "Though perhaps Ash do better in controlling his rage. Yet his reaction is quite understandable."

"Who are you?" Bianca asked.

"My name is Zack Razor. And I must say it is an honor to make your acquaintance Ms. Edmonds." Zack answered before kissing Bianca's hand, causing her to blush.

"Go Wailord!" Marlon called out on the battlefield as he threw a Pokeball.

Bursting out of the ball into the water of the large enclosure was a massive blue whale with a grey underside. It had small beady eyes and a body shaped like a torpedo. At last Misty understood why the arena was so large. It was to accommodate Wailord's immense size.

"Go Ho-Oh!" Ash called with his own throw. The great phoenix soared out of its ball into the sky above the arena.

"Hit it with Scald!" Marlon commanded.

"Dodge and use Sunny Day!" Ash ordered. "Followed by Solar Beam!"

Wailord opened its large mouth and sprayed out a massive blast of steaming hot water up at Ho-Oh. Yet the phoenix was able to evade the attack and shot a beam of gold light into the air, causing the sun over the battlefield to become more intense. Ho-Oh then came around to Wailord's left and fired a concentrated beam of sunlight from its beak, hitting the whale in the side. Suddenly Wailord turned over and was unconscious.

"…Dude. Total wipeout." A stunned Marlon declared.

"Yikes." An equally shocked Chili commented.

"Scary." Bianca remarked with a shudder.

Misty meanwhile gave a heavy sigh. Zack on the other hand merely chuckled and shook his head. Ash called back Ho-Oh and glared across the field at Marlon.

"Don't even think about trying that again!" Ash warned.

With that, he stormed back over to Misty and the others and the group quickly left the gym. Afterwards they went to the Pokemon Center to tend to Samurott. While they were there, Zack filled Misty and Bianca in on who he was and his involvement in the prophesized battle. A bit later the group went out in front of the Pokemon Center.

"It was nice meeting you all. But I'm afraid I must be going." Zack informed them.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" a disappointed Bianca asked.

"I'm afraid not. But we will meet again Bianca." Zack assured her before kissing her hand again.

"I guess we'll see you later than." Ash told him. Zack nodded and gave them a wave as he walked off.

"Wow, what a gentleman." A still blushing Bianca declared.

"I thought you were into Bolt." Misty recalled.

"Sure, but he's not here right now." Bianca pointed out. "Besides, there haven't been many guys who look at me in that way."

"Hey Misty, sorry I went a little crazy back there." Ash told her.

"Don't worry about." Misty assured him. "I actually thought it was kinda sweet the way you fought for me like that."

"Well guys, it's getting pretty late." Chili observed. "How 'bout we wait until tomorrow to head out?"

"We might as well." Ash agreed. "It has been a pretty busy day."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Sorry about cutting out of Ash and Chili's battles with Zack the way I did. But it was something of a subplot. Though maybe I should've made the encounter with Zack its own chapter. Anyway, I've sort of been wrestling with coming up with trainers for the Swords of Justice. And the day before yesterday Zack's character just sort of came together. Originally he was going to be from Johto and have a balanced team of Pokemon like Ash. But then I recalled that Empoleon was also a Steel-type, so instead Zack ended up being a Steel-type specialist from Sinnoh. I also tried giving Zack the qualities of a knight, which is sort of shown in his assortment of Pokemon. He also ended up as an alternate love interest for Bianca.

So at this point I've pretty much figured out two of the trainers for the Swords of Justice. Still trying to figure out who the other two will be though. So many details to work out for the sequel. It's going to end up being a pretty big story, that much is clear.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	54. Challenge of the Elite

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 53: Challenge of the Elite

After five weeks of traveling and an uneventful stop in Opelucid city, Ash and his companions had finally made it. They had reached Higaki City, the site of the Unova League. It had been a long road filled with many challenges and a few hardships, but at last the journey through the Unova Region was nearing its end. And it was not a moment too soon, for the cutoff point for entering the competition was upon them. But as they approached the doors of the stadium for Ash and Bianca to sign up the group noticed that the area seemed uncharacteristically empty.

"Hey Chili, are you sure the Unova League competition is supposed to start tomorrow?" Misty asked. "It seems like there should be more people here."

"Yeah, you'd think there'd be a lot of people in line for tickets and all that." Bianca agreed.

"Trust me, the competition always starts at the same time every year." Chili assured them. "And tomorrow is the day."

"Well we can talk about it later." Ash told them. "Right now let's just worry about getting registered."

In moments Ash and the others made it to the front gate of the stadium. The male attendant sitting in the glass both by the door quickly noticed their arrival.

"Can I help you?" the attendant asked.

"A friend of mine and I are here to register for the Unova League." Ash explained.

"Oh, well the competition doesn't start for another week." The attendant revealed.

"Always starts the same time every year, huh?" a slightly irritated Misty repeated to Chili.

"I don't get it. It should be starting tomorrow." A confused Chili insisted.

"Normally it would start tomorrow, but we have a sort of special event going on right now." The attendant explained. "It's one of those things that happens once in a blue moon. I can go ahead and register you though to save you the trouble of coming back."

"We might as well, since we came all the way here." Ash agreed. "Bianca, you go first."

"Please show me your Pokedex and badges." The attendant requested.

"Okay." Bianca replied as she held out her Pokedex and open badge case.

The attendant scanned the Pokedex screen and all eight of Bainca's badges. When he was done he typed a few things into the computer at his desk.

"Okay, you're all signed up." The attendant told her. "Anyone else in this group here to register?"

"I am." Ash answered as he held out his Pokedex and badges.

The attendant scanned the items and entered the date into his computer. As soon as he finished up though, the device made an odd beeping noise.

"Ash Ketchum… I see." The attendant said to himself.

"Is something wrong?" Ash asked.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to go to the theater across the street." The attendant informed him as he handed Ash a small blue card. "Give this to the man at the front desk when you arrive."

"Why, what's…?" Ash attempted to ask, but before he could finish his question the attendant pulled down the metal shutters of his booth.

"What the heck was that about?" Misty wondered.

"I hope there's not a problem with one of Ash's badges or something." Bianca replied.

"We're not gonna find out anything standing here." Ash pointed out. "Let's just go to this theater and see what's going on."

Ash and the others ventured across the street to the large theater building right across the street from the stadium. It looked to be the sort of theater where plays were held. There was a woman with short red hair manning the ticket booth. Once Ash showed her the blue card the stadium attendant had given him, the woman made a call on the black phone in the booth. In moments a pair of theater ushers emerged and took Ash and the others inside. Inside, one of the ushers took Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario back stage while the other took Misty and the rest of the group to the seats.

"Will you just tell me what the heck is going on?" Ash demanded to know.

"Just walk onto the stage sir." The usher told him. "It'll all be made clear in a moment."

Ash sighed and walked out onto the darkened stage with his two Pokemon companions. Whatever mystery he had landed in was starting to annoy him. Suddenly a spotlight came on above his head and the entire room was filled with the sound of cheering. Ash looked out and saw that the theater was packed with people. He saw Misty and the others right in the front row. A second later another spotlight came on and Ash saw Alder standing right across from him on stage.

"Hello Ash." Alder greeted as he walked up. "Sorry for all the mystery. I'm glad you finally made it here."

"What's going on here Alder?" Ash asked.

"You've been selected for a great honor Ash." Alder revealed. "Word of your victory over Cynthia, the Champion of Sinnoh, has gotten around. So it's been decided that instead of participating in the normal Pokemon League competition you have the chance to battle me."

"You're challenging me to a battle?" Ash realized with a look of surprise.

"You could say that." Alder replied. "But you're going to have to make it to me by defeating the strongest trainers of this region, the Unova Elite Four. Now you have the option of declining this challenge of course, but I have a feeling that you're not the kind of person to do that. So what do you say, Ash?"

"The chance to battle you and the strongest trainers in Unova, huh? How could I not turn that down? You're on Alder." Ash agreed.

"Then come back to the stadium tomorrow." Alder told him. "Your challenge shall being there."

A little later down at the city's Pokemon Center, Ash and the others had gathered in the waiting area to talk about what had just transpired. It was indeed and unexpected turn of events, and Ash was still taking it in.

"Wow, a chance to battle the strongest trainers in Unova. You're so lucky Ash." Bianca declared.

"Ash do you think you stand a chance against them?" Misty asked.

"With a skill level like his, he should do okay." A familiar voice cut in. Ash and the others turned to see Trip walking towards them.

"So you're here too, huh Trip?" Ash observed.

"Obviously." Trip replied. "And I was in the audience when Alder challenged you."

"Funny, I don't remember seeing you there." Bianca recalled.

"That's because I could only get a seat in back." Trip admitted. "I'm guessing that being Ash's friends you got to be in the front row."

"So what do you know about the Elite Four of Unova?" Ash asked him.

"Well I don't think I need to tell you that they're the strongest trainers around." Trip replied. "They're not quite as good as Alder, but they shouldn't be taken lightly. There's Caitlin, a powerful user of Psychic-type Pokemon. Then there's Grimsley, who uses Dark Pokemon. Next there's Marshel, who's an expert when it comes to the Fighting-type. Finally there's Shauntal, who uses Ghost Pokemon."

"Wow, looks like you've got your hands full Ash." Bianca observed.

"No kidding." Chili agreed. "You're going to need one heck of a strategy to beat these guys."

"Don't forget, if you do beat the Elite Four you'll be up against Alder next." Trip pointed out. "He's really someone you shouldn't take lightly."

"Thanks for the advice." Ash told him.

"Just try not to lose too badly, if you lose at all." Trip replied as he turned and left.

"Still a little stuck up, it looks like." Misty observed. "So Ash, what're you going to do."

"Right now I was thinking I'd have lunch." Ash replied. "I can't think up strategies on an empty stomach."

"I have heard of a really good restaurant that's around here." Chili recalled. "We could have a quick lunch there."

"Sounds good to me." Ash agreed.

With that, Ash and the others left the Pokemon Center and headed down the street. Their route took them past the Pokemon League stadium. And as they passed, Ash looked and noticed a pair of male Team Plasma agents looking at the arena. Deciding that they were most likely up to no good, Ash went over to confront them.

"Hey! What the hell are you guys up to?" Ash demanded to know, getting the two's attention.

"This is none of your concern!" One of the Plasma grunts told him. "Leave at once!"

"Hold on." The other Plasma agent told him. "I've seen this young man's picture at headquarters. He's the trainer from Kanto who's become Lord N's enemy."

"Then let's get rid of him once and for all." The first Plasma agent suggested.

Before either of the two could do anything though, both of them glowed with a faint blue aura and were hurled back hard into a nearby tree by an invisible force. Ash and the others looked up to see a grayish-white humanoid cat with a purple tail and belly descending to the ground. The group immediately recognized the Pokemon as Mewtwo. The two Team Plasma agents got to their feet and looked at the Legendary Pokemon with frightened expressions.

"Leave now, or else." A voice in everyone's head warned. Ash and Misty knew right away that the voice was Mewtwo's.

The two Team Plasma agents ran away as fast as their feet could carry them. Once they were gone, Mewtwo turned his attention to Ash and his friends.

"Uh, hey Mewtwo." Ash greeted. "What brings you here?"

"I was simply passing through this city when I noticed your presence." Mewtwo explained. "You seem different from before."

"You seem pretty much the same." Ash replied. "So why have you come to Unova."

"Curiosity." Mewtwo answered bluntly. "I have never been to this region before now."

"Well, as long as you're here you can watch Ash's battles." Misty suggested. "He's going to take on the Elite Four and the region's champion."

"I'm sure he'd like for you to cheer him on." Chili added.

"…I will consider it." Mewtwo replied after a moment before suddenly flying off.

"He seemed a little… grouchy." Bianca observed.

"Mewtwo's a pretty hard Pokemon to figure out." Ash told her. "We can talk about it more over lunch."

"What do you think those guys from Team Plasma were doing here?" Misty wondered as they began walking.

"Nothing good I'll bet." Ash assumed.

* * *

Ghetsis stood in the lab before the tablet of he had retrieved from the Castle of the Black Hero. He was pleased that the translation of the ancient text was nearing completion. All of his plans were nearing fruition. Ghetsis' thoughts we interrupted when a member of Team Plasma walked in a kneeled before him.

"Sage Ghetsis, two men from our advanced team in Higaki City have reported seeing the trainer from Kanto who has become Lord N's enemy." The Plasma agent reported.

"Ah yes, the Ketchum boy. He is something of an irritant." Ghetsis recalled, remembering how N's last encounter with Ash caused him to waver somewhat. "But he is of little consequence. Leave him be for now."

"Yes sir, but there is something else you should know." The Plasma agent replied. "The men also reported seeing a strange Pokemon with immense psychic powers. And it had come to the Ketchum boy's aid. That Pokemon could prove to be a major problem for us."

"Hmm, I see. Put Colress from the research division on it." Ghetsis ordered.

"But Sage Ghetsis, Lord N does not exactly approve of Colress' methods." The Plasma agent reminded him. "You remember how furious Lord N was when he learned of the project Croless and Scientist Dudley had begun working on."

"Yes, but what Lord N doesn't know won't hurt him." Ghetsis pointed out with a sinister grin. "Now carry out my orders."

"At once sir." The Plasma agent replied before leaving.

Ghetsis turned his attention back to the stone tablet. He didn't know just what sort of Pokemon it was that interfered with the advanced team, but he did not care. Ghetsis was sure it would not be a match for Zekrom, and he was sure Ash would not be a match for it either. The world was soon going to be his.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I know this was sort of a short chapter, but it does set a few things up. Plus it was nice to have a little break from all the Pokemon battles. So obviously Ash is going to be facing the Unova Elite Four instead of the normal Pokemon League competition shown in the anime. I always found it a little weird that the Pokemon League in the games was facing the region's Elite Four while in the anime it was just a standard tournament. Plus I decide that another regular tournament would just be a rehashing of the battles that happened in the World Tournament/Bianca arc.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	55. Psychic Queen Caitlin

**Author's Note:** I'd once again like to thank everyone for reviewing the last chapter. In a few of the reviews I was told I had gotten the order of the Unova Elite Four wrong, but in my defense I was under the impression that the Elite Four could be faced in any order in the games. Also, to my special guest reviewer, lord destroyer, thank you very much for the offer in your last review but I'm afraid I'm not interested (if you wish to know why you can go ahead and skip to _Revenge of Noir Mask_).

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon. If I did, Mewtwo and Sabrina would've appeared more (why did I mention Sabrina? You'll find out soon).

* * *

Chapter 54: Psychic Queen Caitlin

Ash suddenly awoke from a deep sleep upon feeling a strong familiar presence in his room. He shot up in his bed to see Mewtwo standing in front of it. The psychic cat merely stared back at him, eyes glistening in the moonlight pouring in from the window. Pikachu and Lucario had also woken up to Mewtwo's presence. Ash had the feeling that something serious was going on for Mewtwo to come into his room in the middle of the night.

"What is it Mewtwo?" Ash asked drowsily as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"I sensed the arrival of two who have powers similar to my own." Mewtwo explained. "And both of them are human."

"Wait, do you mean human psychics?" Ash asked, suddenly becoming a little more alert. He didn't like where things were going.

"Yes. I did not think it possible for humans to possess the sort of power I have." Mewtwo replied. "And so close to my level as well. One of these humans is very near."

Ash closed his eyes to see the Aura of everything in the surrounding area. There was one light just down the street from the Pokemon Center where he and the others were staying. The Aura belonged to a human and was somehow oddly bright, which Ash took to meaning that the person did indeed possess psychic powers. The Aura was similar to Mewtwo's in a way. As Ash looked closer at the Aura an image of a very familiar person came to his mind that caused his eyes to shoot wide open.

"Sabrina!" Ash identified.

"You know this human?" Mewtwo asked.

"I sort of had a gym battle with her in Saffron City." Ash explained as he got out of bed. "It was probably the toughest and weirdest gym battle I've ever had."

"You seem quite concerned about this human's arrival." Mewtwo observed.

"Trust me, Sabrina's psychic powers are no joke." Ash assured the psychic cat as he scrambled to get dressed. "You wouldn't believe the stuff she did when I fought her. And she was cold and emotionless at the time. Of course it seemed like she changed after that, but it's been a few years since than. So who knows what she's like now?"

"So you're going to confront her." Mewtwo deduced.

"Right after I tell Misty and the others." Ash confirmed. "I'm not facing her alone."

"I will go with you then." Mewtwo decided. "This Sabrina you speak of interests me."

Only a few minutes later, Ash woke Misty and the others and told them what was going on. As soon as they were all dressed they went to go face Sabrina. Mewtwo followed them from the air.

"I still don't get why this Sabrina is so scary. What exactly did she do?" Bianca asked.

"For one thing she turned me and our friend Brock into dolls." Misty revealed. "She was one scary gym leader."

"Oh c'mon, you're pulling our legs, right?" a skeptical Chili assumed.

"Trust me Chili, this is no joke." Ash gravely assured him. "Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and I would probably be living in a dollhouse now if it wasn't for the Haunter I made friends with in Lavender Town and that photographer."

"Ash, that guy you thought was a photographer was Sabrina's dad." Misty told him.

"Oh… right. I knew that." Ash replied with a look of embarrassment.

At last the group reached their destination. Standing before them was a woman with long dark-green hair wearing a black leather jacket with a red shirt and a short black skirt. A very serious expression was on the woman's face.

"Ash Ketchum, we meet again." Sabrina coldly greeted.

"She looks the way she did when we first met her." Ash whispered to Misty.

"Yeah, but she doesn't have that creepy doll with her." Misty quietly pointed out. "Remember? That doll was the form her bottled up emotions took or something like that."

"Oh yeah, but still…" Ash replied, not willing to let down his guard.

"So, you're the gym leader from Saffron City in Kanto." Chili cut in. "You know Ash and Misty were just saying you could do stuff like turn people into dolls. Not that I believe that for a second."

"Oh really." Sabrina replied indifferently.

"Yeah. I mean no human could possibly have that kind of power." Chili scoffed.

"Never underestimate the power of the human mind." Sabrina told Chili as her eyes suddenly began to glow with a blue light.

In an instant Chili's form began to shrink and distort slightly, and in seconds he had changed into a small doll that dropped to the ground. Bianca let out a shocked scream.

"Sabrina, change him back right now!" a furious Ash demanded.

"That will not be necessary." Mewtwo interrupted as he descended to the ground. Suddenly the doll glowed with a faint blue aura and Chili was returned to his original form.

"Was… was I just a doll?" a very freaked out Chili asked.

"Uh-huh." An equally freaked out Bianca confirmed.

"What sort of Pokemon are you?" Sabrina asked Mewtwo.

"I am… Mewtwo." The psychic cat answered.

"It seems you have a handle on transmutation." Sabrina observed.

"I have dabbled somewhat." Mewtwo admitted. "How is it that a human could have powers on par with my own?"

"I was born with psychic powers and spent a great deal of time refining them." Sabrina explained. "You seem to think that I am just as powerful as you are. But perhaps I am even stronger."

"You doubt my own powers?" Mewtwo asked in a slightly offended tone.

"I'm saying I don't know enough about them to make an accurate comparison to my own." Sabrina explained. "I would very much like to test them."

"Then test them you shall." Mewtwo replied as his eyes began to glow blue.

Sabrina's eyes began to glow in response and suddenly there was a kind of pressure around both of them. The ground beneath both of them was starting to crack and small pieces of it were rising up in the air and disintegrating. Veins were starting to bulge on the foreheads of both combatants as they fought an invisible psychic battle. Blood was starting to trickle down Sabrina's nose. In moments the damage to the ground beneath both of them was quickly beginning to spread. It seemed like their battle might destroy the city.

"Hey! Cut it out, both of you!" Ash told them. Neither Sabrina nor Mewtwo seemed to hear him. "I said cut it out!"

Again, there was no response. Desperate for a way to stop the conflict, Ash waved his arm and formed a spherical barrier of blue light around Sabrina. The psychic gym leader suddenly reacted like she was hit in the jaw and fell to the ground. Mewtwo stopped his attack and Ash lowered the barrier. After a moment, Sabrina started to get back to her feet as she held her head. Suddenly rushing onto the scene was a man who Ash and Misty knew very well. It was Morty from the Ecruteak Gym.

"Sabrina! Are you okay?" a very worried Morty asked.

"I'm fine darling." Sabrina replied as Morty protectively put his arms around her. "Things just got a little out of hand."

"Darling?" a surprised Ash and Misty repeated together.

"Yes, Sabrina and I have been going out for the past few months." Morty confirmed with a hint of anger in his voice. "Now why did you attack her?"

"This isn't their fault Morty. I started the conflict." Sabrina admitted. "Ash was only trying to prevent me and his Pokemon friend from accidentally destroying the city."

"This isn't all on you Sabrina." Misty assured her. "This probably wouldn't have happened if Chili hadn't opened his big mouth."

"Uh, yeah. I guess I should've had a more open mind." Chili admitted.

"Plus we were a little afraid of what Sabrina might do to us because of what happened when I challenged her to a gym battle." Ash added. "Real sorry about all this."

"Dear me, what happened?" a voice interrupted.

Ash and the others looked to see a fairly young man with black hair with a wide yellow streak in the middle. He was wearing glasses and a tuxedo with a black jacket, purple pants, and white gloves. Hanging from a chain the man had what looked to be a very expensive gold watch.

"It's okay Darach." Morty assured the gentleman. "There was just a little misunderstanding."

"What's going on here Morty?" Ash asked.

"What's going on is that we need your help Ash." Sabrina answered.

Moments later the group returned to the Pokemon Center with Morty, Sabrina, and the man known only to them as Darach. They all went to the waiting area so Sabrina could sit down. She was still a little worn out from facing Mewtwo. Almost immediately after they sat down a Pokeball at Sabrina's belt opened and bursting out was a floating purple shadowy creature with a large fanged mouth, three spikes on the sides of its head-like body, and a pair of detached floating claws.

"Oh hey, it's the Haunter I left with you." Ash recalled. "How're ya doing buddy?" Haunter responded by giving Ash a cheerful wave.

"Haunter, could you go find me something to drink?" Sabrina requested. Haunter nodded and floated off.

"So what's going on here you guys?" Misty asked.

"To put is simply, we need Mr. Ketchum's help to break through to Lady Caitlin." Darach explained.

"Wait, Caitlin as in Psychic user of Unova's Elite Four?" Ash asked.

"That's right." Morty confirmed. "But before becoming a member of the Elite Four she was the head of the Battle Castle in the Johto Battle Frontier."

"I was Lady Caitlin's valet and battled challengers to the castle in her place." Darach added.

"Why did you battle instead of Caitlin?" Misty asked. "I mean if she was strong enough to become a member of the Unova Elite Four why didn't she battle the challengers that came to the battle castle herself?"

"Because things would get a little… out of hand when Lady Caitlin would battle." Darach answered.

"Caitlin is psychic like myself." Sabrina revealed. "But it seems that back when she ran the battle castle she did not have very good control over her powers."

Ash suddenly recalled that Mewtwo had sensed two humans with psychic abilities when he woke him earlier that night. And Caitlin was to be the first member of the Elite Four he was going to face. Needless to say, Ash was starting to have a bad feeling about the coming battle.

"But it seems like Caitlin can control her powers now if she's a member of the Elite Four." Bianca pointed out.

"Yes, but it came at a cost." Morty revealed.

"What do you mean?" Chili asked.

"When I first learned how to control my own psychic powers I shut out own emotions." Sabrina explained. "It seems that Caitlin has done the same. Instead of controlling them she's simply repressed them."

"I met with Lady Caitlin last month to see how she was doing." Darach informed them. "She seemed far colder than she used to be, and her eyes seemed lifeless. It was at that point that I became quite concerned. I had always hoped that Lady Caitlin would gain control of her abilities, but not at this cost. That's why I came to Ms Sabrina for help, as she went through the same thing."

"But what do you want me to do about it?" Ash asked.

"You were able to break through the wall I had put up around my emotions. We were hoping you could do the same for Caitlin." Sabrina explained. "If you don't, well… you remember very well what I was like."

Ash shuddered a bit at the implication that Sabrina made. The last thing the world needed was a ruthless psychic human, let alone one who was an Elite Four member. At that moment Haunter came back with a bottle of soda in his right hand and a small box of mints in his left.

"I only asked you for something to drink." Sabrina told Haunter.

The Ghost Pokemon merely chuckled and in one swift motion removed the cap from the soda bottle and inserted a mint into it. The mint caused a chemical reaction that caused the soda to burst out of the bottle. Haunter aimed the bottle at Sabrina so that the stream would hit her in the face. The room fell silent after the spray stopped. From the expression on Sabrina's face it seemed like she was going to try and beat Haunter to a pulp. But suddenly she burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. Ash and the others looked on with surprise while Mewtwo simply quirked his brow at the scene.

"Oh wow, I was not expecting that." Sabrina commented as she calmed down. "You're always thinking Haunter."

"I guess you really are different from before Sabrina." Misty observed. "Sorry we thought otherwise."

"It's quite alright." Sabrina assured her. "But the reason I have changed is because of Ash. So I'm sure he can get through to Caitlin."

"Well, I have no idea how I can help. But I'll do my best." Ash assured them.

* * *

The stadium of Higaki City was packed with fans eager to see Ash's battle with the first member of the Unova Elite Four. Yet none of those fans knew just what was at stake in this battle. With Ash's victory came the chance of saving Caitlin from herself. While her defeat would only serve to bring forth a great and terrible power into the world. Misty, Bianca, and Chili waited down on the sidelines along with Darach, Morty, and Sabrina. Mewtwo was there as well, wearing a tattered brown hooded cloak to hide his true appearance.

"I really hope Ash put together a good strategy to deal with Caitlin." A worried Misty told the others.

"Relax, I'm sure he's got everything under control." Chili assured her. "I mean he stayed up the rest of last night working on it."

"But what if Caitlin suddenly goes, you know, postal?" Bianca asked. "If she really does have psychic powers she could tear this whole place apart."

"Do not worry. If that happens I will step in and face her myself." Sabrina declared.

"As will I." Mewtwo added.

"I really hope it does not come to that." Darach told them. "I would be devastated if something happened to Lady Caitlin."

"You really care about Caitlin, don't you?" Misty observed.

"Well, of course." Darach replied with a blush as he straightened his tie. "After all, I was Lady Caitlin's trusted servant for a long time."

"It's more than that though. You're in love with Caitlin, aren't you?" Misty deduced.

"Don't be absurd." Darach denied as his face turned redder. "It would be improper for me to have feelings for Lady Caitlin. After all, I was her servant."

"That shouldn't matter." Misty told him. "If you really do have feelings for her you should tell her."

"Your reasoning does seem flawed." Mewtwo agreed. "I do not pretend to know about human customs, but it seems that the difference in your social status should not matter."

"Well, obviously the two of you do not understand the way things are in high society." Darach told them.

"Whatever." Misty said to herself as she rolled her eyes.

* * *

Ash waited in the corridor leading out to the stadium floor along with Pikachu and Lucario, waiting to be called out. He had kept going over the strategy he had prepared over and over again. Before Ash was psyched to be facing such a strong opponent, but with everything that was riding this next battle he could not afford to lose.

_"Seems like you're landed yourself quite the difficult opponent in your first Elite Four battle."_ The spirit of Riley observed as he appeared with Ghost Lucario.

"Have any advice?" Ash asked.

_"Just this. The move you used on Sabirna last night, you shouldn't use it on Caitlin unless you have no choice."_ Riley told him.

"What is it that I did to her?" Ash asked.

_"You used Aura to reflect her psychic power back at her."_ Riley explained. _"It's a good thing she and Mewtwo were just getting warmed up with that battle of theirs. Otherwise Sabrina might've been killed."_

"I, I didn't know." A shocked Ash replied. "I just acted on instinct."

_"It's okay Ash. I should've gotten around to teaching that move sooner. The important thing is no one was seriously hurt."_ Riley assured him. _"Just be careful, okay?"_

"Okay." Ash replied. "Thanks Riley."

_"Good luck Ash."_ Riley wished him as he and the spirit of his Lucario vanished.

* * *

The crowd roared with excitement as a man with stylish lavender hair wearing purple sunglasses with yellow frames and a tuxedo with a glittering red jacket walked onto the field. It seemed that the battle was just about to start.

"Good day to you all ladies and gentlemen!" the man said into the microphone in his right hand. "I'm your MC, Chet Flash, and welcome to the first day of a very seldom seen event, the Unova League Elite Four Challenge!" He paused as the audience cheered again. "Now then, without further adieu, let's get this party started. Our challenger is a young trainer who stared his journey in the region of Kanto, but has since traveled the world and won many gym battles. And he recently won this year's Pokemon World Tournament! Pleas welcome Ash Ketchum!"

Ash walked onto the field with Pikachu and Lucario, waving to the cheering audience a little. Though at the moment he wasn't very concerned with what the audience thought about him.

"And now," Chet continued as the cheers died down, "the first member of the Elite Four our intrepid challenger will be facing once ran the Johto Battle Frontier's Battle Castle, but has since honed her skills and has become this region's most powerful Psychic Pokemon user. Please welcome the girl they've been calling the Psychic Queen, Caitlin!"

The audience thundered with cheers and applause as Caitlin walked out onto the field. She was a young woman who looked to be about sixteen with fair skin and long blonde hair that went down almost to her feet. Her massive amount of hair was being held up at the ends by two small light-pink butterfly-like ornaments that seemed the float in the air. Ash could not tell if they the ornaments were floating due to Caitlin's psychic powers or if they had some sort of internal power source. The rest of her outfit consisted of a light-pink cylindrical cap with a light-pink dress and a cape made of some sort of transparent fabric. Right away Ash noticed the cold emotionless expression on Caitlin's face.

"You do not seem very strong." Caitlin indifferently commented. "I doubt you will provide us with much of a challenge."

"Try me." Ash dared.

"Okay!" Chet continued as he stepped to the side of the battlefield. "In addition to serving as MC, I'll also be acting as the referee. Now then, this match will be a three-on-three battle! Both challengers may switch Pokemon at any time during the battle. And… begin!"

"Go Musharna!" Caitlin called as she threw a Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was a floating taper-like creature that was curled up as if sleeping. The front half of its body was pink while the rear half was purple. Emanating from the top of its head was a strange purple smoke.

"Go Cofagrigus!" Ash called with his own throw. The sarcophagus Pokemon flew out of his ball. "Use Will-o-wisp!"

"Reflect!" Caitlin commanded.

With one of his tendril-like arms Cofagrigus threw a small ball of purple flames that hit the floating taper in the back and left a burn mark. A split second later Musharna raised a golden-yellow barrier of light around itself that vanished almost as soon as it appeared.

"It looks like both of them are starting out with a defensive strategy." Chili observed. "This first battle could go to either of them."

"True, but Ash is using a Ghost-type, which has an advantage over Caitlin's Psychic Pokemon." Morty pointed out. "Plus he was able to inflict a burn on Musharna with Will-o-wisp. It might only be a matter of time before Musharna goes down."

"Use Calm Mind!" Ash commanded.

"Attack with Charge Beam!" Caitlin ordered.

Cofagrigus' eyes glowed with an eerie purple light as Musharna changed position in the air. The taper Pokemon fired a ray of yellow electrical energy that hit the coffin Pokemon in the chest. But the attack seemed to do little damage.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Ash ordered.

"Yawn!" Caitlin commanded.

Cofagrigus brought his arms together and threw a ball of crackling black energy that hit Musharna in the back right where its burn was. After revovering from the attack it let out a big yawn. Cafagrigus yawned in response and suddenly seemed to become drowsy.

"Not good! That Yawn attack is going to cause Cofagrigus to fall asleep soon!" a concerned Chili observed. "If that happens, Ash might be in big trouble."

"Use Shadow Ball again!" Ash ordered.

"Charge Beam!" Caitlin commanded.

The floating taper zapped Cofagrigus in the chest with another electrical beam. Cofagrigus quickly recovered and threw another black sphere at Musharna, once again hitting it where its burn was. Right after his attack though Cofagrigus' eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

"It seems Yawn has taken effect." Caitlin coldly observed. "Now we have you right where we want you. Musharna, use Dream Eater!"

"Use Shadow Ball one more time!" Ash commanded.

Musharna suddenly began to glow with a red aura and soon an ominous red beam began to form towards Cofagrigus. But the sleeping Ghost Pokemon suddenly bit down on something and his eyes shot open, causing the red beam to shatter.

"What did you do?" a slightly surprised Caitlin asked.

"I gave Cofagrigus a Chesto Berry to hold before the battle." Ash explained. "It wakes up a Pokemon if it falls asleep during battle. I thought you might try something like this, so I came prepared."

"Impressive, but it will do you no good." Caitlin declared indifferently.

"We'll see about that. Do it Cofagrigus!" Ash ordered.

Cofagrigus threw another Shadow Ball that hit Musharna in the face. Suddenly the taper Pokemon fell to the ground completely unconscious.

"Musharna is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round One goes to Ash and Cofagrigus!"

"We are not amused." Caitlin told Ash as she called back Musharna.

Ash then noticed small cracks form on the ground Caitlin was standing on. It seemed that she really was displeased about her first defeat. Yet rather than showing her anger it seemed that it was coming out in a very dangerous way. Ash's bad feeling about the battle was getting worse.

"Go Renuniclus!" Caitlin called with her second throw of the match.

Bursting out of the ball was another floating Pokemon, one with a light-green almost humanoid body surrounded by a thick green protoplasm-like substance. This protoplasm was formed into long three-fingered arms at the sides, each with a series of small spheres inside to form the bones.

"Use Psychic!" Caitlin commanded.

Renuniclus raised its long arms forward and Cofagrigus began to glow with a faint blue light. Using its mind the cellular Pokemon threw Cofagrigus up into the air and flung him back to the ground with incredible force. The coffin Pokemon recovered after a moment and floated back up into the air.

"Okay Cofagrigus, use Will-o-wisp!" Ash commanded.

"Energy Ball!" Caitlin ordered.

Before Cofagrigus could make a move, Renuniclus brought its hands together and formed a ball of glittering green light. With a throw of the ball, Cofagrigus was hit in the chest and hurled into the stadium wall behind Ash. Once the dust settled, Cofagrigus was out cold.

"Cofagrigus is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Two goes to Caitlin and Renuniclus!"

The audience roared with applause as Ash called Cofagrigus back to his ball. Ash knew that he probably wasn't going to win the whole match with just Cofagrigus alone, yet he wasn't expecting him to go down so soon. Still, Ash knew he had to stick to his strategy if he was to have any chance of winning.

"Go Golurk!" Ash called as he threw his next Pokeball. The ancient robot burst out of its ball with a thud. "Use Shadow Punch!"

"Use Energy Ball once more!" Caitlin ordered.

Just as Golurk raised its fist to attack Renuniclus threw another glittering green ball of light. Golurk was hit in the chest and stumbled, but quickly recovered and launched a large shadowy fist that struck the cellular Pokemon and almost flung it into the far wall behind its master.

"I don't know how long Golurk can hold out." Bianca told the others on the sidelines. "That Energy Ball attack of Renuniclus' is powerful. And it's a Grass-type attack, which puts Golurk at a huge disadvantage."

"It does seem like the battle has turned in Lady Caitlin's favor." Darach observed.

"Don't worry, Ash's Golurk is real strong. I'm sure it'll win." Chili assured them.

"Use Shadow Punch once more Golurk!" Ash commanded.

"Energy Ball, again!" Caitlin commanded.

Renuniclus hurled another glittering ball at Golurk, causing the colossus to fall to one knee. But the ancient robot got back up and struck Renuniclus with another shadowy fist. This time the protoplasmic Pokemon was almost knocked to the ground.

"Finish with Heavy Slam!" Ash commanded.

Golurk charged forward, its body giving off an eerie yellow aura. The robot tackled Renuniclus to the ground with a large thud that shook the ground somewhat. When Golurk got off of the fallen Renuniclus it was unconscious.

"Renuniclus is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Three goes to Ash and Golurk!"

"You are starting to try our patience." Caitlin told Ash as she called back her fallen Pokemon.

Ash could detect more than a hint of irritation in her voice. Her voice seemed to have a slight echo to it. Not only that, Ash could feel an invisible pressure that was quickly building. It seemed clear that the dam Caitlin put around her emotions was coming close to bursting.

"I've seen this before." Darach told the others on the sidelines. "Lady Caitlin's powers are starting to run out of control."

"I thought you said Caitlin had her powers in check." Chili recalled.

"And she has ever since becoming one of the Unova Elite Four." Darach confirmed. "I had witnessed all her battles since that time and not once did she loose control. The only thing that happened was that she stopped expressing her emotions."

"Did Caitlin ever lose any of the battles she fought?" Sabrina asked.

"Well… no she didn't." Darach answered as a look of shocking realization came to his face.

"Caitlin's irritation at losing twice to Ash is starting to make her loose her grip." Mewtwo deduced. "It may not be long before she lashes out."

"Go Gothitelle!" Caitlin called as she threw her last ball of the match.

Emerging from the ball was a mainly black feminine-looking Pokemon with a cone-shaped body divided into four sections. On the front of each section was a white bow. Her arms were slender and had thick white bands around the wrists and tiny purple hands. Each side of her head had four flat circular extensions, and on the back of her head was another white bow. The Pokemon's face was purple and had two large blue eyes and a pair of large red lips.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Caitlin commanded.

Gothitelle raised her arms forward and launched a large black crackling ball. The sphere impacted Golurk's chest and knocked him to the ground on its back with a large thud.

"Golurk is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Four goes to Caitlin and Gothtelle!"

Ash called Golurk back to its ball and pulled out the ball that contained his trump card. "Go… Spiritomb!"

The malevolent spirit Pokemon burst out of his ball and floated onto the field. Caitlin's face flashed with a look of surprise.

"Use Will-o-wisp!" Ash commanded.

"Attack with Thunderbolt!" Caitlin ordered.

Spiritomb spat out a purple fireball that hit Gothitelle in the chest and left a burn. Gothitelle recovered from the attack and zapped the malevolent Pokemon with a bolt of purple lightning, but the attack did little damage.

"Man, that's one strong Spiritomb Ash has." An impressed Chili declared.

"Spiritomb is one of the strongest Ghost Pokemon out there." Morty pointed out. "And because it's also a Dark-type it has no weaknesses."

"Use Dark Pulse!" Ash ordered.

"Thunderbolt again!" Caitlin commanded.

Gothitelle zapped Spiritomb with another bolt of electricity. But the malevolent spirit recovered and fired a barrage of dark rings from his mouth. The rings hit, causing a large explosion. When the smoke cleared Gothitelle was still standing. But she had taken a good deal of damage.

"Dark Pulse one more time!" Ash commanded.

Spiritomb shot out another black ring barrage that hit the psychic Pokemon again. This time when the smoke cleared Gothitelle was unconscious.

"Gothtelle is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Victory for the match goes to Ash and Spiritomb!"

The audience roared as Ash and Caitlin called back their respective Pokemon. Ash knew that the battle wasn't truly over though. The psychic pressure emanating from Caitlin had increased exponentially. Suddenly the bulbs in the stadium lights began to shatter.

"This… is… UNACCEPTABLE!" Catilin shouted with an echoing voice as her eyes started to glow blue and her body started to rise in the air. "HOW COULD WE LOOSE TO A WEAK TRAINER LIKE YOU?!"

Behind Ash, both Sabrina and Mewtwo began to rise into the air as well. It was clear that a psychic battle was about to begin, one that would probably hurt a lot of people in the crossfire. Ash couldn't allow that to happen, yet he didn't want to risk hurting Caitlin.

_'Ash, trust your instincts.'_ Riley's voice called out.

In the end, Ash decided that he had no choice and raised his arm forward. An Aura barrier formed around Caitlin and the backfire of the psychic power she launched knocked her out. Ash dropped the barrier and Caitlin fell to the ground. A worried Darach ran out onto the field calling Caitlin's and went over to her side. The psychic queen of Unova slowly regained consciousness as Darach sat her up a little.

"Are you okay Lady Caitlin?" Darach asked.

"Darach? What are you doing here?" Caitlin asked weakly.

"I've been very worried about you." Darach explained. "In fact it looked like I almost lost you there for a moment. And losing you has made me realize that… that I can't hide my feelings for you anymore! I love you Lady Caitlin!"

"Huh?" a very confused Caitlin responded.

"Caitlin, I am Sabrina of the Saffron City Gym." Sabrina interrupted as she walked up. "And like you I possess incredible psychic powers that were once hard to control. If you wish I can help you control your powers properly."

"Uh Sabrina, this isn't really the best time to talk about that." Morty told her.

"Why?" a clueless Sabrina asked.

"Folks, could you take this off the stadium floor please?" Chet requested, holding his hand over his microphone. "We sort of need to clean up for tomorrow's match."

"Oh… yes of course." Caitlin agreed as she got back to her feet. "We can all discuss this further at my place."

"I shall go with." Mewtwo decided.

With that, Caitlin walked off with Darach and the others. Ash breathed a heavy sigh once they were gone.

"You okay?" Misty asked.

"Yeah. That was just one really tense battle." Ash answered.

"Look at it this way though. At least you got the toughest member of the Elite Four out of the way." Chili encouragingly pointed out.

"I'm not so sure about that." Ash disagreed. "I have the feeling that the battles are just going to get tougher from here."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I've done a fair bit of reading on the Unova Elite Four in preparation of this chapter. And when I saw that Caitlin had psychic powers that were once out of control I saw a good opportunity to bring back Sabrina, not to mention Mewtwo. Sabrina and Morty are also a couple in this little AU. I just sort of liked the image of those two together so I ran with it, just like when I got the image of Elesa and Skyla as a couple.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	56. Dark Gambler Grimsley

**Author's Note:** So from the reviews I've gotten, it seems that the last chapter was not my best work. Sorry about that. There were a couple things from the last few reviews that I'd like to touch on though. It seems that it was expected that the Elite Four battles were all going to be six-on-six matches. There are a few reasons why I decided to make the three-on-three. One is because in most of the Pokemon games I've played the members of the Elite Four only used five Pokemon while the champion used six. And from the research I've done in preparation for this story the Unova Elite Four each only use four Pokemon (unless the challenge mode is engaged in Black 2 and White 2. Then they use five each). So I just decided to make it an even three-on-three for the purposes of this story.

Another think that came up in the reviews was that a lot of people seemed surprised that Caitlin had psychic powers. My guest review, lord destroyer, wondered if that aspect of Caitlin was in the manga. Not only was it in the manga, it was mentioned in the games too in Caitlin's dialogue to the player. So with all that said, on with the story.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 55: Dark Gambler Grimsley

Ash walked downstairs to the lobby of the Pokemon Center that evening to use the PC. After taking some time to rest after his battle with Caitlin he had come up with a possible strategy to use against the next member of the Elite Four, but for it to work he needed a couple of his old Pokemon to pull it off. When Ash arrived downstairs though he saw that the PC was already in use by a man with a fairly pale complexion and dark hair styled to make him look as though he had horns. His outfit consisted of a dark-blue suit with a red shirt and a long yellow scarf. Ash was about to ask the gentleman if he was done using the PC when he noticed what was on the screen. The man was using the PC to play online poker. Suddenly the PC made a buzzing sound and the words, "you lose" appeared on the screen in big red letters.

"Damn!" the gentleman cursed. "Well, another hundred bucks down the drain. Looks like my luck's left me again."

"Um, excuse me." Ash spoke, getting the man's attention.

"Oh, sorry kid. Bet you want to use the PC, huh?" the gentleman quickly realized. "She's all yours. Just do me a favor and don't tell Nurse Joy what I was just using it for. She gets a little uppity about it."

"Sure, no problem." Ash agreed with a raised eyebrow.

"Wait a sec. You're that kid, Ash Ketchum, aren't you?" the gentleman realized. "The one who's challenging the Elite Four, right?"

"Yep, that's me." Ash confirmed.

"Nice to meet ya kid, the name's Grimsley." The gentleman greeted as he shook Ash's hand.

"Wait a minute, _you're_ the next member of the Elite Four I'll be up against?" a rather surprised Ash asked.

"You got it." Grimsley confirmed. "Hey, sorry your first battle against us was so rough. Caitlin can be pretty intense as you've probably realized."

"Don't worry about it." Ash replied. "I mean I did win, right?"

"Sure enough, but Pokemon battles are about fun, right?" Grimsley pointed out. "I was watching your battle with Caitlin and it didn't seem like you were having a blast."

"Well there was a little at stake on that battle." Ash pointed out.

"Yeah, when it's a high stakes game it's hard to just relax and have a good time." Grimsley agreed. "You won't have that problem with me though. Tomorrow let's just have us a good time. Course I won't be holding anything back though, which means you shouldn't either."

"Don't worry, I won't." Ash assured him.

"Didn't doubt it for a second. Well, see ya in the ring kid." Grimsley replied before walking off.

Ash found his next opponent to be a little odd, though it seemed like Grimsley was a nice enough person. Brushing off the encounter, Ash got on the PC to contact Professor Oak's lab in Kanto.

* * *

Ash headed out to the arena with Pikachu and Lucario at his side. When they got to the door, Misty and the others were waiting for him. Mewtwo was there as well, wearing his cloak.

"Ready for your next battle?" Misty asked after giving Ash a peck on the cheek.

"I think so." Ash replied. "I'm actually not that tense about facing Grimsley after meeting him last night."

"You shouldn't let your guard down. Grimsley is a member of the Unova Elite Four after all." Chili pointed out.

"Don't worry, I'm not taking this lightly." Ash assured the group.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the second exciting day of the Elite Four Challenge!" Chet announced into his microphone on the arena floor. The audience cheered in response. "It's actually pretty rare for this challenge to even have a Day Two, so let's all welcome back the trainer who made it happen, Ash Ketchum!"

The audience cheered again as Ash stepped up to the battlefield with Pikachu and Lucario.

"Now then, the second member of the Elite Four our challenger will be facing is a bit of a rogue and a scoundrel, but is by no means a weak trainer." Chet announced. "Please welcome Unova's own Dark Gambler, Grimsley!"

The audience roared with approval as Grimsley walked out, giving the audience members a wave. A few of the Dark Gambler's female admirers in the front rows threw roses at his feet.

"Well Ash, I hope you're ready for one whirl of a battle." Grimsley told him. "Like I told you last night, I won't be holding anything back."

"Bring it on." Ash dared.

"This match will be a three-on-three battle!" Chet declared. "And… begin!"

"Let's go Krookodile!" Grimsley called with the throw of his first ball.

Bursting out of the thrown ball was a large red crocodile-like creature with black stripes and a white underside. The creature stood on its hind legs and had well developed arms. Around its eyes was a black mask-like shape that also looked like a pair of sunglasses with pointed rims.

"Go Bulbasaur!" Ash called with his own throw.

Emerging from the ball was a fairly small blue-green reptilian creature that stood on four legs. Its eyes were red and it had large green spots on its body. On its back was a large green plant bulb.

"I don't think I've ever seen that Pokemon before." Bianca told the others on the sidelines.

"Hey, isn't that one of the Pokemon they give to new trainers in Kanto?" Chili asked.

"Yeah, but Ash caught Bulbasaur after he started his journey." Misty explained. "It's sort of a long story. But for the last few years Bulbasaur's been at Professor Oak's lab helping to keep the peace between the other Pokemon living there."

"You're kidding me, right kid?" Grimsely asked Ash with a raised eyebrow. "And here I thought you were gonna take this battle seriously."

"You shouldn't underestimate Bulbasaur just because he's not fully evolved." Ash told him.

"Whatever." Grimsley shrugged. "Okay Krookodile, use Crunch!"

Krookodile rushed forward and picked up Bulbasaur in its jaws. After clamping down hard on the small grass reptile, the desert croc flung Bulbasaur into the stadium wall. But when the dust settled, Bulbasaur was already on his feet.

"Use Leech Seed!" Ash commanded.

From the top of the plant bulb on his back, Bulbasaur launched a small brown seed that hit Krookodile on the snout. The seed burst open and strong green vines wrapped the desert crocodile's jaws. Just then Krookodile began to glow with a red energy that began to flow into the bulb on Bulbasaur's back.

"Use Dragon Claw!" Grimsley commanded.

"Attack with Razor Leaf!" Ash ordered.

As energy continued to flow from Krookodile to Bulbbsaur the desert croc charged in with its raised claws glowing with a blue light. But before Krookodile could slash down, Bulbasaur launched a pair of sharpened leaves from the sides of his bulb. Krookodile was hit in the chest by the attack and stumbled to the ground.

"Finish with Vine Whip!" Ash commanded.

Bulbasaur launched a pair of whips from the sides of his bulb and whacked them into the top of Krookodile's head. When the attack ended the desert croc was out cold.

"Krookodile is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round One goes to Ash and Bulbasaur!"

"Well, that shut me up." Grimsley remarked as he called back Krookodile. "Still, as strong as that Bulbasaur of yours is, I doubt he'll do well against my next Pokemon. Let's go Liepard!"

Emerging from Grimsley's second ball was a fairly large cat Pokemon that was primarily purple in color. Its snout, underside, and legs were all dark-yellow and it had yellow rings on its back like spots. Around its eyes was a sort of pink mask. Liepard snarled at Bulbasaur upon emerging.

"Okay Bulbasaur, use Leech Seed again!" Ash commanded.

"Dodge and use Arial Ace!" Grimsley ordered.

The grass reptile shot another seed at Liepard, but suddenly the dark feline seemed to vanish and the seed missed its target. A second later Liepard reappeared behind Bulbasaur surrounded by white streaks and kicked him into the air with its right front leg. Bulbasaur hit the ground hard but managed to recover.

"Man, looks like Bulbasaur took a pretty bad hit from that attack." Chili observed.

"Bulbasaur will lose this battle." Mewtwo coldly declared.

"Well that's a pretty negative thing to say." Misty told Mewtwo.

"Yeah, not to mention mean." Bianca added.

"I am only stating a fact. There is no way Bulbasaur can match the Liepard's speed. And with Liepard using a Flying-type attack it is only a matter of time before Bulbasaur falls." Mewtwo pointed out.

"I hate to say it, but Mewtwo might be onto something." Chili agreed. "That Liepard of Grimsley's is one of the fastest Pokemon I've seen. With the way things are, it's not looking good right now."

"Use Vine Whip!" Ash commanded back on the battlefield.

"Dodge and use Arial Ace once more!" Grimsley ordered.

Bulbasaur deployed his whips to strike Liepard, but the cat Pokemon vanished once more and the whips merely hit the ground where Liepard once stood. An instant later Liepard appeared behind Bulbasaur again through a mass of white streaks and kicked into the air. This time when Bulbasaur hit the ground he was not so quick to get back up.

"Don't give up Bulbasaur!" Ash called. "Use Solar Beam!"

"Sucker Punch." Grimsley commanded.

Bulbasaur began to charge the bulb on his back with solar energy that began to glow in a large spot on the front of the plant. But before Bulbasaur could fire the beam Liepard dashed in before anyone could blink and slashed Bulbasaur in the face. Bulbasaur fell onto his side and was unconscious.

"Bubasaur is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Two goes to Grimsley and Liepard!"

Ash called Bulbasaur back and got out his next Pokeball. "Go Heracross!"

Flying out of Ash's ball was a large blue Hercules-beetle-like Pokemon that stood at almost five feet tall. It had an axe-shaped horn and well developed arms and legs.

"You're full of surprises, you know that kid?" Grimsley told Ash. "I've had quite a few trainers use Fighting Pokemon against me, but never a Heracross before. Have to say though, I'm surprised you haven't used that Lucario of yours yet."

"I just thought it'd be a good idea to save Lucario for last." Ash replied.

"Saving your trump card until the end. Smart move." Grimsley praised. "Okay Liepard, use Arial Ace again!"

"Fight back with Counter!" Ash ordered.

Liepard rushed in surrounded by streaks of white light and slashed Heracross in the chest. The beetle was hit, but an instant later glowed with a golden aura that hurled Liepard back a few feet. It took a moment for Liepard to recover.

"Not bad kid, not bad at all." Grimsley commented.

"Use Mega Horn!" Ash commanded.

"Sucker Punch!" Grimsley commanded.

Heracross began to fly at Liepard as its horn began to glow with an orange light. But before the beetle could get in rage, Liepard quickly swooped in and slashed Heracross in the face. Heracross recovered though and used its glowing horn to toss Liepard into the air. But after being thrown through the air Liepard managed to land back onto its feet.

"It looks like Liepard's taken a lot of damage." Bianca observed.

"Yeah, but so has Heracross." Chili pointed out. "This could be anyone's battle."

"Use Takedown!" Ash commanded.

"Hit that bug with Payday!" Grimsley ordered.

Heracross flew at Liepard again in an attempt to slam the feline Pokemon into the ground. But Liepard jumped up and slashed Heracross again in the face, causing gold coins to scatter to the ground. Heracross fell to the floor and was out cold.

"Heracross is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Three goes to Grimsley and Liepard!"

"I don't believe it." A shocked Misty commented on the sidelines. "That Liepard managed to take out two of Ash's best Pokemon."

"If this keeps up he doesn't stand a chance." Bianca added.

"Looks like you'll have to use that trump card of yours kid." Grimsley noted as Ash called back Heracross. "Think it'll be enough?"

"Let's do it Lucario!" was Ash's only reply. Lucario nodded and stepped onto the battlefield. "Use Bullet Punch!"

"Sucker Punch!" Grimsley commanded.

Lucario leapt in with a paw raised in a white glowing fist. But before the jackal Pokemon could land a blow Liepard leapt in and slashed Lucario in the side of the face. Lucario quickly recovered though and slammed his fist into Liepard's face.

"End it with Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded.

Before Liepard could get back to its feet Lucario threw a ball of blue light that hit the cat Pokemon in the face. Liepard crashed back to the ground on its side and was unconscious.

"Liepard is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Four goes to Ash and Lucario!"

"Yikes! No wonder you were saving that Lucario of yours for last." Grimsley commented as he called back the fallen feline. "Guess there's only one card I can play that has a chance in this battle. Let's go Scrafty!"

Emerging from the ball was an orange lizard-like Pokemon that stood on two legs. Its chest and stomach were grey and atop its round head was a large red crest like a Mohawk. Around its heck like a hood was a mass of shed yellow skin. There was more of this skin around its legs that made it looks as though the Pokemon was wearing a pair of baggy yellow pants.

"Use Focus Blast!" Grimsley commanded.

"Aura Sphere!" Ash ordered.

At the same time as Lucario threw another ball of blue light, Scrafty tossed forth a ball of blue-green light with both its arms. The two attacks collided and created an explosion of light.

"Use Hi-Jump Kick!" Grimsley ordered.

"Dodge and use Ice Punch!" Ash ordered.

Before the light of the explosion faded, Scrafy jumped high into the air. Then just as the light died down the lizard Pokemon came crashing down towards Lucario to deliver a powerful flying kick. But at the last second Lucario rolled out of the way, causing Scrafty's leg to slam into the ground. Before Scrafty could recover Lucario came from behind and struck the other Pokemon with a paw covered in an icy mist. In a matter of seconds Scrafty was completely encased in ice.

"Finish this with Bone Rush!" Ash commanded.

A ball of blue light formed in Lucario's paw and formed into a metal bone. With club in hand the jackal Pokemon began to strike the frozen lizard repeatedly. Once the attack finally ended the ice cracked and Scrafty fell to the ground face-first.

"Scrafty is unable to battle!" the referee declared. "Victory for the whole match goes to Ash and Lucario!" The audience cheered with approval.

"Damn! Now I know why Alder thought we should challenge you." Grimsley told Ash as he called back Scrafty. "You're no slouch kid."

"Thanks." Ash replied. "You're pretty tough too."

"Well, it's been fun Ash." Grmsley declared as he shook Ash's hand. "I'll be keeping my eye you for the rest of the challenge. You're going to have it pretty tough in your next battle."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked.

"Well you see the next member of the Elite Four, Marshal, he has it out for you for some reason." Grimsley revealed. "Don't ask me why, he wouldn't tell me. But my point is you shouldn't let down your guard."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." Ash replied.

"Be seeing you kid." Grimsley told him before walking off. Misty and the others joined Ash a moment later.

"Looks like you had fun out there." Misty observed.

"Yeah, course now I'm a little worried about my battle with the next member of the Elite Four." Ash replied. "Grimsley said the guy doesn't like me for some reason."

"How could that be?" Misty wondered. "You haven't even met the Unova Elite Four besides Caitlin and Grimsley."

"I know. But whatever's going on, it looks like I better be ready." Ash decided.

* * *

**Author's Note:** This ended up being a fairly fun chapter to write. Mainly because I rather like Grimsley's character. Anyway, for the time being I'm going to go back to updating this story on a weekly basis. It kinda seems like I've been working a little too hard on it lately.

Please review and let me know what you think.


	57. Top Fighter Marshal

**Author's Note:** It seems that I have to apologize yet again to my guest reviewer lord destroyer. I got his question from one of his previous reviews mixed up with someone else's. Further proof that I need to slow down a little with this story I guess. Anyway, to answer the actual question, both Sabirna and Caitlin were born with psychic powers. But Caitlin's were out of control before becoming part of the Elite Four while Sabirna's drive to control her own powers caused her to become the ruthless cold fighter she was in the anime. The thing about Caitlin becoming like Sabrina was just something I whipped up for this story. That said, on with the show.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 56: Top Fighter Marshal

Ash stood at the window of his room looking out at the night sky. He glanced over at the clock on the nightstand by his bed. The clock told him that it was 1:00 AM. Pikachu and Lucario had already turned in. Ash thought he should do the same, yet he was having difficulty getting to sleep that night. He couldn't stop thinking about Grimsley's warning about how Marshal had it out for him. And Ash could not understand the reason why.

_"Worried about your next match I see."_ A familiar voice observed.

Ash turned to see the spirit of Riley sitting in a chair by the door. The ghost of Riley's Lucario was standing next to him.

"I can't figure out what it is Marshal has against me." Ash explained. "I've never even met the guy."

_"That's actually the reason why I've appeared to you now."_ Riley explained with a small sigh. _"Marshal doesn't have anything against you directly. His problem is with me."_

"You?" Ash asked with surprise. "What does he have against you?"

_"You remember how I trained with Alder for a time, right?"_ Riley reminded him as he stood up. _"Well Marshal saw himself as Alder's apprentice and thought I was usurping his position."_

"So he saw you as his rival then?" Ash assumed.

_"Yes, and he would often challenge me to battle."_ Riley confirmed. _"Usually I'd be the one to win, though there were a few close calls. Now that I'm no longer of this world, Marshal wants to settle the score between us by defeating you."_

"I guess that would be the next best thing. But he's going to be out of luck." Ash declared.

_"Just be careful in your match. Marshal isn't one to be taken lightly."_ Riley warned. _"Good luck Ash."_

With that, Riley and his Lucario vanished. Now knowing more about what he was up against, Ash finally went to bed to rest before tomorrow's match.

* * *

Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario headed down the hallway to the stadium floor. As they came to the doorway they found Misty, Bianca, Chili, and Mewtwo waiting for them with one other person. Ash was surprised to see that the person in question was Grimsley.

"Hey there kid. Hope you're ready for this next match." Grimsley greeted.

"Hi there Grimsley." Ash greeted back. "I didn't expect you to be here."

"What, I can't root for the up-and-coming challenger like everyone else?" Grimsley replied. "I've done my bit already, so I might as well cheer you on from the sidelines. Besides, I've taken quite a shine to you kid."

"Well thanks, I could use all the support I can get right now." Ash told him.

"You think you're ready for this battle?" Misty asked.

"I think so." Ash answered. "I know Marshal uses Fighting-types, so that helped me come up with a strategy."

"Well for your sake it better be a good one." A familiar voice told him. Ash and the others looked to see Trip walking up to them.

"So you're here too, huh?" Ash observed.

"There's no way I'd miss this battle." Trip replied. "Marshal is supposed to be almost as good as Alder."

"Then I guess I'll just have to try harder." Ash replied.

"You better not lose. I expect more from someone like you." Trip told him.

"Don't worry. I'll beat him." Ash confidently assured him. "Now then, I better get out to the ring."

Ash walked out though the door to the battlefield. Misty and the others followed to watch from the sidelines. Chet was already out in his usual spot on the arena floor.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to day three of the Elite Four Challenge!" Chet announced into his microphone. "Now, please welcome back our young challenger who has so far beaten two members of the Elite Four, Ash Ketchum!"

The audience cheered as Ash took his position on the battlefield.

"Now then." Chet continued. "Our challenger's next opponent and the third member of Unova's own band of Elite trainers is known as a master of Fighting Pokemon. Please give a warm welcome to the Top Fighter of the Elite Four, Marshal!"

The audience cheered again as Ash's next opponent walked onto the battlefield. He was a fairly muscular man with dark skin and orange-yellow hair. He had on a sort of sleeveless karate outfit with baggy yellow pants.

"So you're Riley's apprentice, huh?" Marshal observed. "I don't see what the big deal is. You're just some punk from Kanto. I'm gonna wipe the floor with you."

"You shouldn't take me lightly." Ash warned. "Otherwise I'll be the one who wipes the floor with you."

"This match will be a three-on-three battle!" Chet declared. "And… begin!"

"Go Sawk!" Marshal called out with the throw of his first Pokeball.

Emerging from the ball was a blue-skinned humanoid Pokemon wearing a white karate outfit. He had a mask-like face with a black nose that extended into an eyebrow above his left eye.

"Go Swellow!" Ash called with his own throw.

Flying out of the ball was a large magnificent blue bird with a red face and breast and a white underside. Its tail feathers split into a V with red tips.

"Using a Flying-type. What an unoriginal move." Marshal scoffed. "Sawk, use Stone Edge!"

"Attack with Arial Ace!" Ash commanded.

Before Sawk could launch and attack, Swellow flew behind the blue fighter at an incredible speed as it became surrounded by streaks of white light. The great bird struck Sawk in the back with its beak, hurling the Fighting Pokemon forward five feet.

"Now use Air Slash!" Ash ordered.

Just as Sawk was getting back to his feet, Swellow flew past at a blinding speed and hit Sawk with a blade of air. The blue fighter fell back to his knees.

"Finish with Giga Impact!" Ash commanded.

From high in the air, Swellow flew down towards Sawk at top speed as it began to glow with a white light. The great bird hit Sawk and caused a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, Sawk was lying in a crater face-up and unconscious. The entire stadium was silent with shock. Though no one was more shocked than Marshal.

"Uh, Sawk is unable to battle!" Chet declared after a moment. "Round One of the match goes to Ash and Swellow!"

"Unbelievable." Chili spoke on the sidelines with awe. "Sawk was barely even able to make a move."

"I've never seen a Pokemon with such speed and power." An equally stunned Trip added. "It took down an Elite Four member's Pokemon like it was nothing."

"Jeez, I'm glad he didn't use that Pokemon against me." Grimsley told them.

"Hey Misty, has Ash had Swellow long?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, Ash used Swellow a lot when we were traveling through Hoenn." Misty revealed. "Swellow was even one of the reasons why Ash was able to win the Hoenn League."

"Well it looks like Ash really does have this match in the bag." Chili assumed.

"This battle is far from over." Mewtwo told them. "I could sense earlier that Marshal was taking Ash lightly. But now that his first Pokemon was so easily defeated his anger has risen."

"I warned you not to take me lightly." Ash reminded Marshal as he called back Sawk.

"You damn punk!" Marshal cursed. "Don't think you're hot stuff just 'cause you got in a lucky shot against me! By the time I'm through with you I'll prove to everyone that you and Riley could never come close to the kind of power Alder and I have! Go Throh!"

Bursting out of Marshal's second Pokeball was a creature that looked like a squat red version of Sawk. Like Sawk, he also had a black nose that extended into an eyebrow only the brow went over both eyes.

"Hit Swellow with Retaliate!" Marshal commanded.

Before Swellow could get out of the way, Throh charged forward and punched the bird on its chin. Swellow was flung up into the air and hit the ground with a thud.

"That attack looks like it did a lot of damage." A worried Bianca observed.

"Retaliate is a move that has more power if the Pokemon's teammate from the battle before fainted." Trip explained.

"That was a pretty cocky move having Swellow end things with Sawk by using Giga Impact." Marshal told Ash back on the battlefield. "As fast as Swellow is, it still needs to rest after using a move like that. That gave Throh and I just the opening we needed. Throh, finish this with Storm Throw!"

Before Swellow could recover from the last assault, Throh picked the bird up and began to spin around at a fast speed than one thought possible for such a bulky Pokemon. In moments a large twister began to form around the spinning Pokemon and his captive. Seconds later Swellow was ejected from the twister and flung into the wall behind Ash and left a dent. The bird was out cold as it slid down the wall.

"Swellow is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Two goes to Marshal and Throh!"

"Not feeling so hot now, are ya punk?" Marshal taunted as Ash called back Swellow.

"Go Charizard!" was Ash's only reply as he threw his next Pokeball.

The fire dragon flew out of his ball and landed on the field before Throh. Charizard gave out his trademark roar and breathed a stream of flames into the air.

"Use Stone Edge!" Marshal commanded.

"Dodge and use Sky Drop!" Ash ordered.

Through launched a barrage of sharp stones up into the air at Charizard. But the dragon quickly flew out of their path and scooped up the bulky fighter in its arms. Charizard flew up high into the air and flung Throh down into the very same crater that Swellow created during its battle with Sawk. Throh's impact in the middle of the crater caused more dust to be kicked up. But when the dust settled Throh was back on his feet.

"Move in and use Dragon Claw!" Ash commanded.

"Use Payback!" Marshal ordered.

Charizard flew in and slashed Throh across the chest with his glowing blue claws. Throh recovered from the attack and punched Charizard in the side of the face with a glowing purple fist.

"Use Sky Drop once more!" Ash commanded.

Upon recovering from Throh's last attack, Charizard picked up the bulky fighter again and soared high into the air. The fire dragon hurled Throh back to the ground again, landing back in the crater. The dust settled and Throh was once again on his feet, but after a moment fell to his back unconscious.

"Throh is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Three goes to Ash and Charizard!"

Marshal called Throh back to his ball. "I'll admit that you're not half bad as a trainer, but someone like you can never come close to the kind of strength Alder and I have."

"And why's that?" Ash asked.

"You just don't get it, do ya punk? From the time I started as a trainer I walked the path of strength, just like Alder has." Marshal told him. "After all the training I've done, there's no way I could lose to some kid from Kanto."

"You know for someone who claims to be Alder's apprentice, you sure don't seem to have learned much from him." Ash observed.

"Hmph, Riley said the same thing to me once when we first met." Marshal replied. "I could never understand what Alder saw in him, just like I can't understand what he sees in you. But I do know this, you won't replace me as his apprentice!"

"I'm not trying to." Ash told him. "And neither was Riley."

"Save your words for after the battle!" Marshal shot back as he threw his last ball. "Go Mienshao!"

Emerging from the ball was a large light-purple ferret-like Pokemon that had long whiskers with yellow tips. Its arms ended in long strands of fur that gave the impression of long sleeves.

"Use Bounce!" Marshal commanded.

Mienshao jumped up high into the air and impacted hard on Charizard's back, hurling the fire dragon back to the ground. Charizard slowly got back up but seemed to have trouble moving his wings.

"It looks like Charizard might've been paralyzed by Mienshao's attack." Chili observed.

"This ends now!" Marshal declared. "Use Aura Sphere!"

Upon landing back on the ground, Mienshao spun around and produced a ball of blue light between its arms. The fighting weasel flung the ball at Charizard, hitting him in the face.

"No way! I thought Lucario was the only Pokemon that could learn Aura Sphere!" a shocked Misty told the others on the sidelines.

"Finish with Dual Chop!" Marshal commanded.

Mienshao's arms began to glow with a blue light as he dashed at Charizard. The weasel spun around and whipped Charizard in the chest. Charizard fell back after being hit and was out cold.

"Charizard is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Four goes to Marshal and Mienshao!"

Ash called the fallen Charizard back to his ball. "Let's go Lucario."

Lucario nodded and walked out onto the battlefield. Both Mienshao and Lucario glared at one another and took a fighting stance.

"So it's come down to this, huh?" Marshal observed. "Just like with Riley. Well that's fine by me. Mienshao, use Hi Jump Kick!"

"Dodge and use Ice Punch!" Ash commanded.

Mienshao jumped high into the air and came at Lucario with a flying kick. At the last second Lucario rolled out of the way, causing the weasel to strike the ground and cry out in pain. Lucario came back around and struck Mienshao in the face with a mist-covered punch. A small patch of ice formed where the punch hit but quickly shattered.

"Use Aura Sphere!" Ash and Marshal commanded together.

Both Pokemon threw balls of blue light at the other. The two spheres impacted and created a blinding explosion of blue light.

"Now use Bullet Punch!" Ash ordered.

Before the light of the explosion faded, Lucario rushed in with a white glowing fist raised high in the air. Just as the light finally vanished the jackal Pokmeon stuck Mienshao right on the nose, causing the weasel Pokemon to stumble back three steps.

"Finish with Aura Sphere!" Ash commanded.

Before Mienshao could fully recover from the punch, Lucario moved in and threw an Aura Sphere at close range. The weasel Pokemon was struck in the chest and fell back unconscious.

"Mienshao is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Which means victory in the match goes to Ash and Lucario!"

The audience roared with excitement as Marshal called Mienshao back to his ball. "I don't get it. How is it that I lost to you? What is it about you and Riley that I'm lacking?"

"Why is it that you think Riley and I have tried to replace you as Alder's apprentice?" Ash asked.

"Because when it comes down to it, Alder has paid more attention to you and Riley than he ever did me." Marshal explained. "There are even times when it seems like Alder doesn't even acknowledge I exist. Even after I've followed the same path that he has."

"But that's just it, you haven't been following the path Alder has." Ash told him. "You want to know how it is I've gotten so strong? It's because I've traveled to a lot of other places and battled a lot of strong trainers. That's the same thing Riley has done, and it's how Alder has become the trainer he is today. I bet you assumed I was weak before we even fought, and that's where you screwed up. Strength alone isn't enough."

"I guess I really have been blind in my training." Marshal realized. "So strength alone isn't enough, huh? You've given me a lot to think about Ash Ketchum. Good luck in your next battle."

With that, Marshal turned and walked off. As he did, Misty and the others went up and joined Ash.

"You did good, kid." Grimsley praised. "Now you've only got one battle left before getting to Alder."

"Probably won't be an easy battle though." Ash assumed.

"The way Marshal acted towards you. It was just the way I used to be." Trip realized.

"Yeah, but you've gotten a lot better since then." Misty pointed out. "And I'm sure Marshal will too."

"In the meantime, why don't we all get something to eat to celebrate Ash's victory?" Chili suggested.

"Hey, I'm all for that." Grimsley agreed.

"Me too." Ash added. "That battle really worked up an appetite."

* * *

Ghetsis looked out over the balcony of his castle sipping a glass of wine. As he did a female Team Plasma agent rushed out and kneeled behind him.

"Sage Ghetsis, the translation of the tablet has been completed." The Plasma agent reported. "According to the inscription the Dark Stone is located at the Dragonspiral Tower."

"Excellent." Ghetsis replied with an evil grin. "Go inform Lord N and prepare to move out."

"At once sir." The Plasma agent replied before rushing off.

"Finally, this world will belong to me." Ghetsis laughed to himself.

* * *

**Author's Note:** One of the issues that's come up with doing these Elite Four battles has been finding ways to make them more interesting, which was the same issue I've had with the gym battle chapters. So when I researched and found that Marshal viewed himself as Alder's apprentice I got the idea that he might've had a rivalry with Riley. In the end I sort of implied that Riley and Marshal had the same type of relationship that Ash and Trip had earlier in this story.

Well, three down, one to go. Then comes the exciting climax, so stay tuned. In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	58. Mystery Writer Shauntal

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 57: Mystery Writer Shauntal

The early morning sun hung high as Ash sat up on the roof of the Pokemon Center meditating with Pikachu and Lucario. In his mind's eye Ash could suddenly sense another presence on the roof with him. He could tell that the presence was human, yet it was no one he recognized. Silently, Ash got up and turned around. Whoever he was sensing was behind the small supply shed on the roof. Ash walked over with Lucario and Pikachu and stopped right by the corner of the shed.

"Whoever you are, I know you're here watching me." Ash called. "So you might as well come out."

"Oh! Oh dear!" a startled feminine voice exclaimed.

After a moment a petit young woman with short purple hair nervously came out from behind the shed. She had on a pair of thick glasses with large circular frames and a purple dress with black stockings. Around her neck was a large elaborate black collar shaped almost like the head of a cat or the wings of a butterfly. In her hands she had a red notebook and pen.

"Please don't be angry." The young woman requested. "I was only doing research."

"Who the heck are you?" Ash demanded to know.

"I'm Shauntal, a member of the Elite Four." The young woman explained. "I guess I'm also going to be your next opponent."

"So what, you were trying to research me to find out the best way to beat me in our battle?" Ash asked.

"Oh! Goodness, no." Shauntal assured him. "I prefer to get that kind of research first hand. Though your exploits in battle have become pretty well known. But you see right now I'm researching your personal traits. I have to be sure I get them right if I'm going to base a character off you in my next novel."

"Novel?" Ash repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, I've actually gotten a few published." Shauntal explained. "They're mostly mysteries, but I've been thinking of branching out. Perhaps you've read some of my work."

"Actually I don't really get a chance to read much when I'm on the road." Ash admitted as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, too bad." Shauntal replied with a look of disappointment. "Anyway, I think you might be perfect for the hero of my next work. I've already done all the background research on you." With this, she opened her notebook. "Let's see, you were born in Pallet Town and became a Pokemon Trainer at the age of ten like most who go into the field. Since that time you've beaten all the gyms in Kanto, including the Orange Island gyms, as well of all the gyms in Johto and Hoenn. Yet it seems you never finished taking on the gyms of Sinnoh, which I imagine was due to the death of your mentor Riley."

"Yeah, that's pretty much right." Ash confirmed.

"You know there's still a good deal of information I haven't been able to find out about your travels through Sinnoh. Since I've got you here, care to tell me a little more?" Shauntal requested.

"I'd really rather not." Ash replied. "That was a pretty bad time for me."

"Oh, of course. I shouldn't pry." Shauntal responded. "Anyway, it seems that you also have some interesting connections with certain Legendary Pokemon, mainly the legendary bird, Ho-Oh. Care to explain just what that connection is?"

"Hey Ash, Chili's got breakfast ready." Misty interrupted as she walked onto the roof. Right away she noticed Shauntal. "Who's your new friend?"

"Oh! You must be Mr. Ketchum's traveling companion and rumored love interest." Shauntal realized as she went over to Misty. "You're quite the interesting character too. The youngest of four sisters who run the gym in Cerulean City, said to be the Plain Jane of the four. You know, looking at you up close I can see that trait wasn't much of an exaggeration. It's also been said that you have a fiery temper, which is an odd trait for a Water Pokemon Trainer."

"Ash, can I throw whoever this is off the roof?" an insulted Misty requested.

"Oh dear. Seems I've worn out my welcome." Shauntal quickly realized as she backed away from Misty. "I should be getting ready for my battle anyway. See you in the ring Mr. Ketchum." With that, Shauntal quickly exited through the door to the roof.

"Who the hell was that?" Misty asked.

"My next opponent, apparently." Ash answered.

"Hey Ash, you don't think I'm plain, do you?" Misty asked a bit hesitantly.

"What? No, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." Ash assured her. His answer caused Misty to blush a little. "Now c'mon, we don't want to keep Chili and the others waiting."

* * *

Ash walked down the corridor to the arena floor with Misty, Chili, Bianca, and Mewtwo. At the end of the hall, Grimsley was waiting for them as he toyed with a deck of cards.

"Well kid, you're almost at the top." Grimsley told Ash. "Hope you're ready to face Shauntal. She's pretty tough."

"Let's hope she's easier to battle than get along with." Misty remarked.

"Oh, you met her before, didn't you?" Grimsley quickly realized.

"Yeah, on the roof of the Pokemon Center this morning." Ash confirmed. "She and Misty didn't really get off on the right foot."

"Well don't sweat it. Shuantal gets on everyone's nerves sometimes." Grimsley assured them. "I'm still ticked off at her for how she butchered me in her last book."

"She used you for one of her characters?" Chili asked.

"Yeah, and she got me totally wrong." Grimsley insisted. "Like I have a gambling problem."

"But you're always playing online poker at night." Ash pointed out.

"He's right. We've all seen you." Chili added.

"That's besides the point." Grimsley told them.

"You know I think I started reading that book." Bianca revealed as she pulled said novel out of her bag and flipped to a page. "Did you really lose your entire family fortune on one game of blackjack?"

"No! See that's what I'm talking about. She blows everything entirely out of proportion." Grimsley explained. "I'll have you all know that it was only half the family fortune, and I'm still sure that game was rigged. Never play the tables in Celadon City."

"Welcome everyone to the exciting fourth day of our Elite Four Challenge!" Chet announced out on the arena floor, earning much approval from the audience. "Today we find out of our intrepid challenger will be able to face our region's champion, or go back home with a lovely gift basket. So let's all give a warm welcome back to our challenger, Ash Kecthum!"

The audience cheered loudly as Ash headed onto the field with Pikachu and Lucario. Ash noticed that there seemed to be more people cheering for him than from when his challenge first began.

"And now, please welcome the fourth and final member of Unova's own Elite Four. Presenting master trainer of Ghost Pokemon and noted mystery writer, Shauntal!" Chet announced. The audience cheered again as Shauntal walked onto the field.

"Well Mr. Ketchum, let's see if you're truly worthy of being the subject of my next book." Shauntal greeted.

"Considering what Grimsley said about how you wrote him in one of your books, I'm not sure if that's a real good incentive for me to win." Ash replied.

"Okay! This match will be a three-on-three battle!" Chet announced. "And… begin!"

"Let's go Chandelure!" Shauntal called with the throw of her ball. The ghostly chandelier floated out onto the battlefield.

"Go Crawdaunt!" Ash called with his own throw.

Bursting out of the ball was a nearly four foot tall lobster-like creature that was mainly red in color. On the front of its forehead was a yellow star-shaped growth.

"Hey Misty, is that one of the Pokemon Ash caught in the Hoenn Region?" Bianca asked.

"Yeah, and it's a pain in the butt." Misty confirmed with a somewhat angry look.

"Hey, Ms. Waterflower seems rather unpleased to see your Crawdaunt." Shauntal noticed upon glancing back at Ash's cheering section. "Odd reaction from someone who likes Water Pokemon so much."

"Yeah, well when he was a Corphish he ate one of Misty's favorite fishing lures." Ash admitted. "I guess she's still a little ticked off about that."

"Wow, that sort of detail is pure gold." Shauntal remarked as she wrote what Ash just said in her notebook.

"Uh, can we get started with our battle?" Ash requested.

"Oh, of course." Shauntal replied. "Feel free to make the first move."

"Okay then." Ash agreed. "Crawdaunt, use Bubble Beam!"

"Dodge and use Energy Ball!" Shauntal commanded.

Crawdaunt fired a stream of bubbles from his right open claw. But the chandelier Pokemon cut to the right of the attack and fired a ball of sparkling green light. The Pokemon lobster was hit in the face and was forced back a foot.

"Now get in close and use Will-o-wisp!" Shauntal ordered.

"Big mistake!" Ash declared. "Crawdaunt, use Night Slash!"

Chandelure flew in close and fired a purple fireball from one of its burning candles. Crawdaunt raised his left claw to block the attack and was burned. But an instant later the same claw began to glow with a purple light and Crawdaunt used it to slash Chandelure from below, flipping the ghostly Pokemon in the air.

"Now use Crabhammer!" Ash commanded.

Crawdaunt's other claw became shrouded in water, and just as Chandelure recovered from the last attack the Pokemon lobster brought the claws down hard on the top of Chandelure's head. The ghostly chandelier crashed to the ground unconscious.

"Chandelure is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round one goes to Ash and Crawdaunt!"

"A promising beginning." Chantal remarked as she called back Chandelure. "But let's see if you can build on it. Go Jellicent!" A pink female Jellicent flew out of Shantal's Pokeball. "Use Energy Ball!"

"Attack with Dark Pulse!" Ash commanded.

From his right claw, Crawdaunt fired a barrage of black rings that managed to hit Jellicent in her large head. But the ghostly jellyfish recovered and hit Crawdaunt in the face with a sparkling green ball thrown from on of her tentacles. Crawdaunt fell to his side unconscious.

"Crawdaunt is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Two goes to Shauntal and Jellicent!"

Ash called back Crawdaunt and got out his next Pokeball. "Go Spiritomb!"

The malevolent spirit burst out of his thrown ball and hovered before Jellicent.

"That's odd, why isn't Ash using Pikachu or one of his Grass Pokemon?" Chili wondered on the sidelines.

"Maybe he thinks Spiritomb stands a better chance against Shauntal's Jellicent." Bianca assumed. "I mean Spiritomb isn't weak to any Pokemon."

"Yeah, but still. You'd think he'd save a Pokemon like Spiritomb for last." Chili pointed out.

"An interesting twist." Shauntal pointed out. "But I hope you're not planning to base the whole story of this battle on Spiritomb alone."

"Trust me, there's more to my strategy than that." Ash assured her.

"Okay then. Jellicent, use Will-o-wisp!" Shauntal commanded.

"Dodge and use Dark Pulse!" Ash ordered.

Jellicent threw a purple fireball at Spiritomb, but the malevolent spirit dodged the attack and fired a barrage of black rings from his mouth. Jellicent was hit but remained floating in air.

"Use Shadow Ball!" Ash and Shantal commanded together.

Both Spritomb and Jellicent fired off balls of crackling black energy. The two spheres collided to create a small explosion.

"Finish with Dark Pulse!" Ash commanded.

Spiritomb fired another black ring barrage through the smoke left by the explosion as it began to clear. Jellicent was hit and fell to the ground unconscious.

"Jellicent is unable to battle!" Chet declared. "Round Three goes to Ash and Spiritomb!"

"That was an impressive performance." Shauntal praised as she called back Jellicent. "It looks like we're getting to the climax of this story. Let's go Cofagrigus!"

Bursting out of Shauntal's final Pokeball was another sarcophagus Pokemon like the one Ash had used before.

"Spiritomb, use Will-o-wisp!" Ash commanded.

"Fight back with Shadow Ball!" Shauntal ordered.

The malevolent spirit spat out a ball of purple flames that hit Cofagrigus in the chest. Cofagrigus recovered and brought its tendril-like arms together to throw a black ball that his Spiritomb in the face.

"Cofagrigus, use a Will-o-wisp attack of your own!" Shauntal commanded.

Using one of its arms, Cofagrigus threw a purple fireball that managed to hit Spiritomb on the rock he was bound to. The fireball left the mass of dark spirits with a burn.

"Now that both Cofagrigus and Spiritomb are burned, it's just a matter of endurance." Chili commented.

"Don't be too sure." Grimsley argued. "Sure the kid's Spiritomb is tough, but Shauntal's Cofagrigus is one of her strongest Pokemon. I'm not sure if Spiritomb is in quite the same level."

"Okay Cofagrigus, use Grass Knot!" Shauntal commanded.

Cofagrigus glowed with a green aura and suddenly four brown vines erupted from the ground from below Spiritomb. The vines snared Spiritomb and pulled him to the ground with incredible force.

"Now, finish with Shadow Ball!" Shauntal ordered.

Before Spiritomb could pick itself up off the ground, Cofagrigus threw down another black ball. Spiritomb was hit in the face and crashed back to earth unconscious.

"Spiritomb is unable to battle!" Chet announced. "Round Four goes to Shauntal and Cofagrigus!"

"I don't believe it!" Bianca declared on the sidelines. "Spiritomb is supposed to be one of Ash's strongest Pokemon."

"What'd I tell ya?" Grimsley shrugged. "Shauntal's Cofagrigus is no slouch."

"This battle's been a pretty interesting story." Shauntal remarked as Ash called back Spiritomb. "But I think it's pretty clear how this story is going to end."

"Don't be so sure." Ash argued as he threw his final Pokeball. "Go Ho-Oh!"

The great phoenix burst out of its ball into the air. The entire audience fell silent with awe.

"No way! Ash is actually using Ho-Oh?" a shocked Bianca asked.

"Was he planning this from the beginning?" Chili wondered.

"A-Amazing!" Shauntal exclaimed. "I heard that you had Ho-Oh, but I guess I didn't really believe it."

"Ho-Oh, use Sunny Day and Solar Beam!" Ash commanded.

Ho-Oh shrieked and shot a golden beam of light into the air though the arena skylight. The light of the sun's rays intensified and Ho-Oh shot down a beam of solar energy. Cofagrigus was struck in the chest but managed to withstand the attack.

"Fight back with Shadow Ball!" Shauntal commanded.

"Dodge and use Sacred Fire!" Ash ordered.

Cofagrigus threw up another black ball at Ho-Oh. But the phoenix tilted out of the way and sent down a wave of rose-colored flames at the coffin Pokemon. Cofagrigus crashed to the ground and was out cold.

"Uh, Cofagrigus is unable to battle!" Chet declared after a moment. "Victory in the match goes to Ash and Ho-Oh!"

The audience cheered with excitement as Ash and Shauntal called back their respective Pokemon. With that done, they walked up to each other on the battlefield.

"That was a thrilling battle we had." Shauntal declared. "But tell me, were you always planning to use Ho-Oh against me?"

"Actually, I was originally planning to do something else." Ash admitted. "But what you said to Misty this morning on the roof kinda ticked me off. She wasn't too happy about it either."

"Oh dear. I didn't mean to offend anyone." Shauntal assured him. "I'll go apologize to Ms. Waterflower right away. Say, who's that gentleman in the hood?"

"Oh, that's Mewtwo." Ash answered.

"The rumored Legendary Pokemon I've heard things about?" Shauntal asked with a look of excitement. "I could base a whole series off of him!"

With that, Shauntal rushed over to Misty and the others. A part of Ash hoped that Mewtwo didn't know how to read. He wasn't sure how the psychic cat would react to how Shauntal would portray him in her books.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen!" Chet continued. "Our challenger, Ash Ketchum, has proven himself by defeating every member of the Elite Four. Which means tomorrow shall come his greatest challenge yet, a battle with the champion Alder! So be here tomorrow bright and early for the battle of a lifetime!"

* * *

N walked up the crumbling steps of the ancient Dragonspiral Tower. Walking a few steps behind him were Ghetsis and six Team Plasma agents. Upon reaching the roof N and his entourage saw a pitch-black orb sitting atop a crumbling pedestal. As N approached, the orb began to glow with a blue light and rise into the air.

_"What are your ideals?"_ a deep booming voice asked from the orb. _"Reveal to me the ideals of your heart!"_

"I have a dream, a wish." N replied. "A wish to make separate worlds for both humans and Pokemon."

At this answer, the orb shot up high into the air and exploded with a flash of blue light. The sky became thick with dark-grey clouds. Then descending to the roof of the tower was a large black dragon with muscular arms and a tail that looked like a turbine. Its eyes were yellow with red sclera.

_"Your dreams for a better world are your ideals."_ The dragon spoke. _"I am Zekrom, and you are the hero that I have been awaiting for years. Command me, and I shall follow."_

"Very well." N agreed. "Then let us work together to create an ideal world."

* * *

Stay tuned for the exciting climax of Best Wishes revised.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


	59. The Dragon of Truth

**Author's Note:** I am profoundly sorry for letting this story hang for so long. Especially so close to the climax. I have my reasons for not updating of course. But the bottom line is I just needed to take a long break from this story. I just couldn't bring myself to write another chapter. Still, I haven't forgotten about this story, or this AU. So I'm finally going to start wrapping this story up.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter 58: The Dragon of Truth

The final day of the Unova Elite Four Challenge had come at last. Ash was to battle Alder. All of the battles that Ash had been in during his trip through Unova had been building to this moment. He couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. But Ash also found that there was a sort of eagerness as well. It had been a long time since he had battled a powerful trainer without having to worry about the fate of the world. When Ash came out of the front of the Pokemon Center with Pikachu and Lucario, he found Misty, Chili, and Bianca waiting for him. Mewtwo was there as well with Morty and Sabrina.

"You ready for this?" Misty asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Ash answered. "Let's get going."

Before the group even took a step towards the stadium, they heard a loud rumbling overhead and the sun was eclipsed by a massive shadow. They all looked up to see a massive object floating through the air. In moments it passed and headed towards the stadium. It was then that they could all get a good look at what it was. The ship was a large castle made of brown brick. The base was a round dark-grey metal structure with four long metal legs. On the front of the castle over the main gate was a very familiar emblem that most of the group recognized immediately.

"Team Plasma!" Ash identified.

"How the heck is that castle even floating?" Bianca wondered.

"Wait a minute. Back at Chargestone Cave, N said that he and some of his goons were there to mine some of the stones." Chili recalled. "Those electromagnetic stones are probably what's powering the castle."

Hoards of panicked people fled the stadium as the castle loomed above it. After a moment, the structure lowered itself onto the top of the stadium and its metal legs clamped down onto the side.

_"People of Unova! I am N!"_ a familiar voice announced over a sound system. _"Today I have come to challenge the champion, Alder. This will be a battle that decides the future of humans and Pokemon. Whether anyone likes it or not, this world is about to change!"_

"He's finally doing it." Ash observed as he balled his hands into fists.

"What do we do?" Misty asked.

"…What does it look like?" Ash finally answered after a moment. "We bust into that castle and stop N!"

The nine rushed towards the stadium as fast as they could. Though Mewtwo had an advantage due to his ability to fly. But he slowed down just enough for the others to keep up. When the group got to the stadium doors, their path was suddenly blocked by a band of seven Team Plasma agents.

"Halt! No one shall interfere with Lord N's battle!" the lead agent declared.

Before a battle could start though, a beam of concentrated sunlight struck near one of the other guards. Ash and the others looked to see Trip with his Serperior.

"What are you guys just standing around for?" Trip asked in his usual rude manner. "Get into that castle and stop N. Serperior and I will handle these guys."

"There are too many for you to handle alone!" Ash pointed out.

"Who said I was alone?" Trip smirked as he pointed a thumb up at the sky.

Just as Ash and the others were about to look up, a bolt of yellow lightning struck near another one of the guards. The group finally looked up to see Elesa and Skyla riding on Salamence with Raichu.

"Hi Ash." Elesa greeted with a wave. "Most of the gym leaders in Unova came all the way back here to see your battle with Alder today. But now we've all started fighting these Team Plasma guys. Don't worry, we've got everything under control."

"That's right. So you can get in there and stop that N guy without having to worry." Skyla assured him.

"Morty and I will stay out here and help to." Sabrina decided.

"Thanks." Ash told Trip and the gym leaders. "Let's go guys!"

With that, the remaining seven hurried past the guards as the large battle began. In less than a minute they made it inside the stadium. Hanging in the center of the arena was a long ladder leading up into the castle.

"Looks like they probably made Alder go up this ladder." Ash assumed.

"Then I guess we better start climbing." Chili decided.

"That will not be necessary." Mewtwo informed them.

Before anyone could ask what the feline Pokemon meant, they were all suddenly lifted into the air by an invisible force. With the power of his mind, Mewtwo carried them all up into the castle. Once they were all on solid ground, they all looked to find they were in a large cavernous hallway that went in two directions.

"Which way do we go?" Misty wondered.

Ash and Lucario both closed their eyes for a moment. "This way. Follow us."

Ash, Pikachu, and Lucario led the way down the hallway. They all rushed to try and prevent N's battle with Alder.

* * *

A pair of Team Plasma agents was escorting alder through the castle. Alder didn't have much choice but to go with them. The agents had threatened to attack the people in the stadium if he didn't go. At last, the pair of agents brought the Unova champion through a pair of massive doors into a large round throne room. Two sets of identical doors were on the sidewalls of the chamber, and sitting atop a gold throne directly across from Alder was N. With Alder brought before their leader, the two agents left the room. The massive doors slammed shut behind them.

"At last we finally meet, Champion Alder." N greeted. "My name is N."

"You've certainly made quite the entrance." Alder remarked. "What do you hope to prove by challenging me?"

"By defeating you, I will demonstrate my power to the world." N explained. "And with that power, the world will finally change. Humans and Pokemon shall finally be separated."

"Humans and Pokemon cannot exist without one another!" Alder argued. "But if it's a battle you want, you've got it!"

"I was hoping you'd cooperate." N smiled. "This will only be a one-on-one battle. Come to me, my friend!"

With N's call, his massive black dragon dropped in through a large hole in the middle of the ceiling. Alder's eyes went wide with shock.

"By Lord N's hand, I shall defeat you!" Zekrom declared.

* * *

Ash and the others continued on through the castle. Occasionally they ran across a few Team Plasma guards, but Pikachu, Lucario, and Mewtwo made short work of them. At last the came to a set of large closed doors. Just as Mewtwo was about to open the doors with the power of his mind, they both opened on their own. Walking through them was a man with blonde hair and wearing glasses and a lab coat. He also had a blue hair ornament that swirled around his head. Ash, Misty, Bianca, and Chili were all shocked by the stranger's appearance. They all recognized him from Ho-Oh's prophetic vision as one of the people fighting alongside Team Rocket.

"Well, I was hoping this encounter might happen." The man said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "You've saved me the trouble of tracking you down."

"Who are you?" Ash demanded to know.

"I'm Colress, a researcher for Team Plasma." The man greeted. "And I was actually talking to your Pokemon friend there." He pointed at Mewtwo.

"What business do you have with me?" Mewtwo asked indifferently.

"I've never heard of a specimen like you." Colress explained. "Pokemon like you are a scientist's dream. I wish to study you so that I can find a way to bring out your full power."

"I see. You are no different from the humans that created me." Mewtwo observed. "I'm nothing more than an experiment to you."

"You were _created_ by humans?" Colress excitedly repeated, seeming to ignore the rest of what Mewtwo just said. "You're even more fascinating than I imagined."

"Ash, you and the others go on ahead. I'll handle this one." Mewtwo decided.

"Are you sure Mewtwo?" Misty asked.

"This Colress is nothing to me." Mewtwo assured them. "Go now."

"I'm afraid I can't let any of you pass." Colress told them.

"Do not interfere." Mewtwo ordered.

Suddenly Colress was frozen by a faint blue aura. Ash and the others took the opportunity and ran past through the doors. Once the rest of the group made it through safely, Mewtwo released the scientist.

"Impressive." Colress praised. "But you are not the only one with a trick or two up his sleeve."

The Team Plasma scientist pressed a button on a silver watch that he was wearing. Suddenly dropping down from the ceiling was a floating metal sphere with what looked like a short antenna on the front. Just as the end of the antenna began to crackle with red electricity, the feline Pokemon crushed the device with his thoughts, causing it to explode and fall to pieces.

"My word! You're even more powerful than I imagined." Colress excitedly observed. "Mewtwo, was it? I have a proposal for you. Join me, and I can find a way to bring out your full power."

"I do not need the likes of you to attain power." Mewtwo told him.

"I see." Colress replied as he pulled out a Pokeball. "Then I guess we'll have to do this the hard way."

* * *

Ash and his remaining companions continued on down a very dark hallway until they came to another set of doors that were open a crack. The young Aura Guardian pushed them open, revealing a very large round room with powder-blue walls. In the center of the room was a pair of pink couches around a brown table on a round section of light-yellow carpet. Sitting on one of the couches were two young women, one with long pink hair wearing a flowing pink dress, and another with shorter brown hair wearing a similar gold dress. The two girls quickly noticed the group's arrival.

"Oh, welcome." The pink-haired woman greeted as she stood up from the couch. "You all must be tired after coming all this way. Please, have a seat and rest for a moment."

"Who are you?" Ash demanded to know.

"I am Anthea." The pink-haired woman answered. "You needn't fear anything from us."

"And I am Concordia." The blonde greeted. "One of you is Ash Ketchum, correct?"

"That's me." Ash confirmed.

"So you're the one that N is conflicted about." Concordia observed. "He sees you as a friend, someone who thinks the same way he does. Yet he cannot understand why you oppose him."

"Please join us for a moment to rest." Anthea requested again. "You'll need to be at full strength before facing our brother."

"N is your brother?" a surprised Ash asked.

"We'll be glad to tell you the whole story." Concordia replied. "But please, sit down."

After a moment of hesitation, Ash and the others joined the two mysterious girls. Anthea pulled out a wooden box from under the table that contained dark-green herbs. She gave some of the herbs to Pikachu and Lucario. After the two Pokemon hesitantly ate the herbs, they seemed to regain some of their strength.

"So the two of you are really N's sisters?" Misty asked.

"N, Anthea, and myself were all adopted by Sage Ghetsis." Concordia revealed. "My sister and I were taken in to help take care of N."

"But doesn't that mean Ghetsis is N's father?" Ash pointed out.

"Ghetsis has been the only human father N has ever known." Concordia confirmed. "He found N as a very young child one day while walking through the forest. When our father saw how N seemed able to communicate with Pokemon, he took him in and groomed N to be the leader of Team Plasma."

"Wait a minute. Wouldn't that make Ghetsis the real leader of Team Plasma?" Chili suddenly realized.

"Technically. But much of Team Plasma follows our brother because they believe in the same thing." Concordia explained. "They all want to help Pokemon."

"I want to know one thing, Concordia. Why does N want to separate Pokemon from humans?" Ash asked.

"You have to understand. Our brother is only trying to help Pokemon all over the world." Anthea cut in. "But both my sister and I agree that… N's approach is wrong."

"When he lived in the forest, N only knew wild Pokemon that had never had any contact with humans besides him." Concordia continued. "After our father took N in, he brought him only Pokemon that had been abused by humans. Using them, our father convinced N that humans only used Pokemon as tools."

"But what does Ghetsis hope to gain from that?" Bianca asked.

"I don't know." Concordia admitted. "But my sister and I both think that our father has his own agenda."

Ash suddenly stood up from the couch. "I get it now. Before I thought that N was like that bastard, Cyrus. But he really is a good person just doing what he thinks is right. The problem is he's been lied to."

Suddenly a white light began to shine from Ash's bag. The Light Stone flew out of the top of the bag and began to float in front of the large doors on the other side of the room, causing everyone to look.

"What is your truth?" the female voice of the stone asked Ash. "Reveal to me the truth in your heart!"

"I want to help N by showing him the truth." Ash told the stone. "I want to show him that his way of trying to help Pokemon is wrong!"

The Light Stone burst into a pillar of white flames. After a moment the flames cleared to reveal a large bipedal dragon with blue eyes and covered in a sort of white down. The dragon's head was like that of a wolf, and had two long streams of fur trailing behind it. Its arms were like large wings, and its tail resembled something that looked like a jet engine.

"Your bond is your truth." The dragon spoke in the voice of the stone. "I am Reshiram, the white dragon of truth. You are indeed the one I have been waiting for. The one who awaken me. I am at your service."

"Then let's go stop N!" Ash decided.

* * *

Alder's Bouffalant fell to its side after being struck by a massive blue lightning bolt from Zekrom. With no other Pokemon left, Alder called Bouffalant back to its ball and the battle was over.

"It seems I am now champion of the Unova League." N observed.

"You may have beaten me, but your plans will never succeed!" Alder declared. "I know for a fact that there is one other person who can stop you."

"Nothing can oppose the power that Zekrom and I possess." N proclaimed. "A new and better world begins now."

As if on cue the doors of Alder's left suddenly burst open with a blast of flames. Alder, N, and Zekrom all looked to see Ash standing in the doorway with Pikachu, Lucario, and Reshiram.

"N!" Ash called. "This ends now!"

"Sister! You've been revived?" a shocked Zekrom asked the white dragon.

"I cannot allow your champion to prevail, brother." Reshiram told him. "His ideals may be strong, but he does not fight for the truth."

"What are you doing here Ash?" a surprised N asked.

"N, you've been lied to." Ash told him. "I'm going to show you the truth!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** The confrontation between Mewtwo and Colress was something I put in to set up part of this story's sequel. Those two actually do make good enemies for one another. Anyway, I'm afraid the next chapter of this story won't be put up until sometime next week. Don't worry though. This thing will be done soon.

In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think.


End file.
